The Love of a Hanyou
by kiaraj
Summary: Kagome Higurashi is kidnapped from the streets of downtown Tokyo on her way home, raped and badly beaten. Read and find out how the love of a hanyou can prove to be the best medicine a woman could ever ask for.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha do not belong to me. I am merely borrowing them.

Prologue

***

The pulsating beat of the club's music blared relentlessly around her. Her eardrums thumping along with the beat as she struggled her way through the crowd of gyrating bodies. She pushed her way slowly towards the bright neon lit exit sign that continuously tantalized her with thoughts of freedom. Freedom she was sure, that seemed to slip further and further away from her.

She had lost sight of her friends thirty minutes ago and she knew without a doubt that it would be useless to try to find them within this cluster of heated, quivering flesh. Hopefully, she stood more of a chance of being found outside than she did inside. Whose idea was it to come here again? Oh yeah that's right; it was her idea, her stupid lame brain idea.

Sighing heavily she mustered up the last of her resolve and continued to push and shove her way towards the sanctity of quiet that she would find outside. Just when she thought that she would never make it, she noticed the silver door below the sign only ten feet in front of her. Her blue eyes filled with joyous tears of relief and she made a hasty dash towards it.

"Finally…," she muttered as she leaned heavily against the door causing it to swing wide. She desperately sucked in fresh mouthfuls of air and glanced to both her left and right searching for her errant friends. A small cry of despair filled the air for it was obvious her friends had not realized that she was missing. Even if they had noticed they had not thought to look for her outside as she had done.

"What should I do?" Nervously she plunged her hand into her bag for her cell phone however, after a futile search; she soon acknowledged to herself that she had left it behind at home. She sighed, "I guess I should just go home. I hope everyone is alright." She made her way across the road, heading in the direction of the Shibuya train station.

"Dear God, why me?" she muttered to herself. She fervently checked all directions and prayed that her miko senses were up to keeping her safe tonight. Sweeping a lock of black hair behind a dainty ear, she endeavored to focus her attention on her surroundings whilst promising herself a nice bubble bath once she got home, "Never again! The next time I'll be sure to keep all my brilliant ideas to myself." She said softly, hunching her shoulders in an attempt to stave off the nightly chill.

She cursed silently to herself as she glanced down to her left at the barren streets lit by dim street lights that seemed to flicker menacingly every two seconds. After a few minutes the pungent odor of old urine and wet dog wafted up around her and she suppressed the extreme urge to gag by leaning heavily against the brick wall of the building that was in dire need of a good hosing. After she had moved a little further down the wall, she finally allowed herself to worry about her friends, _"Maybe I shouldn't have just left them behind like that." _She thought before memories of her friends just an hour ago flashed in her mind.

The last time that she had spotted them, Ayumi, Yuka and Eri were out on the floor individually dancing to a wild pulsating beat with their partners. They seemed to be enjoying themselves and even took turns in switching partners. They obviously were completely unaware of her and paid no mind to poor Kagome who was all by herself at the bar drinking a can of soda, _"There's no reason for me to be worried; they're big girls."_ Kagome soon erased thoughts of her wayward friends from her mind.

She quickly burrowed more deeply into the heavy felt of her coat and muttered, "That's strange; there's no one around. Well, of course, they all had the common sense to either stay at home or take a cab Kagome." Mentally she rolled her eyes and gave a brief huff as she continued to head on her way home.

Suddenly, the atmosphere changed around her and the eerie silence was broken by the sound of a can fallen to the ground and rolling to a stop against the pole of the street light. She spun around quickly, squinting to see through the darkness in the direction of the noise. _"Is someone here?"_ She thought to herself.

She waited for only a brief two minutes before seeing the sleek black form of a wily cat dart from the alley to the safety of the alleyway on the other side of the street. "What's the matter? You're losing it there girl. It's just a cat" she mentally congratulated herself upon effecting a voice void of any fear which was a huge contrast to what she was feeling inside as well as the small tremors that were fighting to take a hold of her body, "Anymore of this suspense and I am likely to piss myself."

She took large steps forward when the stairwell to the underground train station came into view and gave a small sigh of relief when she stood five feet away from the edge of the deck moments later. She took a quick glimpse at the train's schedule and sighed when she noticed a train's arrival in another ten minutes. She took a deep breath to calm her jittered nerves and glanced up at the large clock illuminated on the far wall, silently begging the train to arrive post haste. Taking another agitated glance towards the stair well and then back to the empty entry way where the train would be making its appearance.

The strange sensation of being watched started to creep up her spine and she couldn't shake the feeling that whatever was out there was moving closer towards her. _"Screw this! I'm out of here!"_ Spinning around, she beat a hasty retreat back towards the stairwell. Kagome did not know when she was struck and knocked unconscious but the only thing she noticed as her world was swallowed slowly by complete darkness was the feeling of hot breath on her neck and that of being lifted from the ground. "_Dear kami, I'm going to die," _were her last thoughts.

***

A lone figure stood pacing back and forth in a straight line, near the old well that lay on top of a hill, over run by vines. The well projected a strong aura of old magic and seemed to emit waves of an ominous nature. This however did not seem to deter the figure from pacing agitatedly before it, glancing every so often over the edge of it as though waiting for something to emerge from within its dark depths.

"Where is that wench?" the figure growled, as it stopped mid- step to glance up at the sky. The stars seemed to twinkle tauntingly at him, almost as if to say that his wait was futile. Inuyasha clenched his claws into a tight fist and growled menacingly into the night.

"Why isn't she here yet? She's four hours past the time!" A few minutes of indecision passed, before he let out a grunt of disgust and swiftly jumped into the well. Inuyasha closed his eyes when a flash of light appeared enveloping his body and a sensation of warmth coursed through him. For just one brief moment he felt a sense of peace wash over him before he was brought back to reality with an abrupt awareness of the biting, damp cold night's air.

He took in a deep breath, before coughing violently at the swift intake of mold, dander and damp, decaying soil that seemed to clog his sensitive nose. Raising the extended sleeve of his hakama to his nose, he swore violently and vehemently wished that the cloying scents that ran rampant in the small, run down shack that housed the well would disperse. Inuyasha bent his knees and with a mighty push was able to leap over the lip of the well with exaggerated ease and made a hasty exit from the shack.

He sprinted towards the two- storey house that sat not more than twenty feet from the well, trying in vain to hold his breath against the bombardment of horrid scents that were affiliated with the modern era that Kagome lived in.

"Kami, the things that I do for this wench, she better believe that she owes me two months' rations of ramen for this", he muttered quietly to himself, before lifting his fist and pounded heavily against the strange shoji (paper sliding door) that was made of wood.

He tapped each clawed finger of his hand against his upper thigh as he waited impatiently for it to open. He was in no mood to wait but deigned it not worthy to risk his back by breaking the door down. Whether he liked to admit it or not, the wench got her way some of the time simply because he did not wish to risk her wrath and a sore back. Mostly however, he relished in provoking her. She had this uncanny ability to bring out his more basic demonic instincts. Whether she realized it or not, the arguments were simply a way in which demons conducted their courtships. Since she was too weak to physically fight against him, he had no other option but to endure a longer and less satisfying route in order to ensure that no harm came to her. The chit was clueless though, since every time he sought to dominate her she either subdued him and ran off to her own time or subdued him and then spent most of her time ignoring him.

"Silly girl, you can't escape me? I'm your destiny and you're mine", he growled out into the cool night air. Nevertheless in time she would come to find the true meaning of her place within his pack, within his heart, within his bed. At that last thought, he blushed heavily and cursed his demonic instinct.

The wooden shoji swung swiftly inward before he got the chance to further reprimand his wayward thoughts, only to glimpse the worried face of Kagome's mother. Her dark eyes quickly took in the sight of his red clad body before glancing beyond him to the well house door and then quickly to her left towards the shrine steps. Higurashi- sama's eyes swung back to his own, and took in his puzzled frown before expelling a breath and letting him in.

"I'm sorry Inuyasha that was rude of me", she moved back from the door's entrance in order to allow him to pass the threshold. She glanced once more into the darkness towards the shrine steps before hesitatingly closing the door. More than a bit confused at Higurashi- sama's strange behavior, Inuyasha stood stoically near the door with a frown and inquiringly raised a dark brow.

Higurashi- sama glanced up at Inuyasha and seeing his frown, was quick to divulge the reason for her angst. "Oh kami…," she let out a small sob before wrapping her arms about her waist. "Kagome went out with some friends earlier but hasn't come back yet. It's already 1:00am and she hasn't called".

Inuyasha felt the tension that was emitted from Higurashi- sama's small frame. He smelt the sweat of her anxiety and he saw the minute tremors that coursed through her body. As he continued to gaze upon her, he felt a flash of white cold fear shoot through him.

He spared only a second to think about what he should do before whipping the wooden shoji to the side and without a care for any humans that might be out, he leapt down the long flight of steps in front of the shrine to the concrete ground below. He stopped to take in a deep breath, ignoring the odors of smoke, metal, and other fumes too noxious to name and he dashed in the direction that Kagome's scent was the strongest. Once outside the suburban area of Kagome's home, he flew up to the roof top of the nearest building and continued to leap from one roof top to another, mindful of the ever present scent of his woman.

Before too long, Inuyasha was in the heart of downtown, and he managed to track Kagome's scent down to a red building that stunk of human waste and arousal. It was apparent that Kagome's scent lead there, mingled with a thousand other scents. He was relieved to discover that a more recent trail led away from the large, loud building that stunk of humans and the heavy musky scent of their arousals that lit up the area.

His eyes were squinted down to nothing more than narrow slits, all senses tuned in towards the dark street. Anyone who stopped to look closely at him would have noticed first his strange apparel and then the furry white appendages twitching atop his head. They would have been too busy wondering why the young man was dressed for Halloween a month too early instead of pondering on the eerie glow of his eyes, reminiscent of those of an animal.

Before too long, he followed Kagome's trail towards the subway station but he did not go any further. There was a presence of two other scents, both of which stunk of smoke, sake and old sex. Why were they there? Why so close to his Kagome? He took the stairs quickly, only to be struck by the high stench of Kagome's fear and blood. The bastards had done something to Kagome; that was obvious. He could feel the anger come upon him like a huge tidal wave intent on nothing but destroying everything in its path.

He closed his eyes and took only a moment to allow the hate to consume him as he took another deep breath in order to memorize the scent of the human filth. His hand fell heavily against the hilt of his sword in a desperate attempt to stave off the hot surge of youkai that pulsated through his veins. He struggled valiantly not to lose his sanity and not dash off in frenzied pursuit of his prey but still yet the transformation fought to prevail. Kagome's safety came first; he could deal with the bastards later. When he finally opened his eyes, the flare of his youkai had bled the cornea of his eyes to a deep crimson so reminiscent of blood. As he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, he curled back his lips, as he felt the fangs within his mouth lengthen. He flexed the claws of his hands, as they too lengthened, in an effort to relieve the tingling itch for blood shed and the feel of tearing flesh. He felt his muscles bunch and tense in preparation of the hunt. He let all other thoughts in his mind go as he became intent on his purpose, his kill. They had his mate and there was nothing that they could do to stop him from taking her back.

"Mine", was the only word that was growled out from under his breath. The stark blue pupils of his eyes took in the debris left behind from the men's shoes. The debris led off the raised dais of the station and into the depths of the darkened entryway. The fools could not have gone far obviously whilst carrying his woman's body. With a great burst of speed he dashed down the darkened entry, ears, eyes and nose alert to anything that might tip him off to their whereabouts.

He came to an abrupt stop ten minutes later, when the cloying scents of the bastards became strong. Along with the scent of smoke and sake came the strong, overpowering scent of their arousals. He had little time for more thought, when he let out a savage snarl and drove forward, intent on killing every and any single thing that so much as moved.

A second later, he came across a small alcove to his left and not minute later he heard a small, weak whimper. The scents of the two men had merged with several others, suggesting that this was a meeting place. Peering intently into the alcove, he made out the small motionless pale glow of flesh. His eyes widened imperceptibly, before he recognized that pale flesh as that belonging to him.

"Kagome", he growled as he rushed forward to gather her up into his arms. She was naked, what was left of her clothing was ripped from her body and laid as rags at the back of the alcove. His grip tightened around her and he only let up a slight bit when she gave out a loud groan. The scent of her blood and the arousal of the men lay heavy upon her.

He bent down to his knees and placed her back on the ground, only to bring his nose to the cold flesh of her body. He sniffed his way from her neck down to the very crevice of her sex, taking care to avoid the various cuts and a particularly nasty gash on her side close to the scar left behind by Madame Centipede. Once there, he gave another savage snarl when he discovered that both of the original men's seed were spilled within her body mixed in with her virgin's blood.

He shrugged off his red outer coat and threw it across her body. He strode over to the pile of rags that were her clothing, tearing it into several long strips. Kagome was cold and she had lost a lot of blood, he needed to make certain that she was safe before he continued on with his hunt for the men that did this. He was careful with her, tender even as he bandaged the more serious of her wounds. His face contorted with anger as he surveyed the extent of her injuries.

The animals that did this to her would both pay with their lives along with the others that had stood aside and watched. He took one last glance at his surroundings, taking deep breaths, memorizing the myriad of scents that clung heavily to the alcove. Letting out another low growl, he headed back towards the terminal exit, his intention to make his way to the Higurashi shrine as fast as possible.

***

Higurashi-sama did not know what she should've expected when Inuyasha found Kagome and brought her home with him, however it was not to find her bundled up in nothing but his haori and Inuyasha himself looking about ready to pounce on any who so much as dared to look at her.

She opened the door wider and he wasted little time in crossing the threshold to stride across to the living room. She quickly closed the door to follow him, turning on the overhead lamp as she did so. There was nothing on this earth that could have prepared her for what she saw. Inuyasha had placed her daughter on the couch; the stark white of her skin illuminated more by the black of it. The blue black bruises and the deep cuts that still seeped blood on said skin were enough to bring bile surfacing to her throat.

Her baby looked so pale and broken, the clothes that she wore before going out were no where in sight. Who had done this? Why had they done this? She could not suppress the sob that emerged from her throat and she fell heavily against the wall before sliding down to the ground. Her hands came trembling up to lie against her mouth as though to stop the moans from coming out.

When he heard the first moan, Inuyasha turned his head sharply to his left as he moved away from the couch. When he saw Higurashi- sama sprawled out on the floor, guilt slammed into him. If he had been here he could've prevented Kagome from leaving. This was all this was his fault, if only he had come sooner. As if from a distance, he heard the heavy footfalls of the old man coming down the stairs.

"Ikumi? What going on… Kami!" the old man came to an immediate stop when he noticed his daughter's slouched position on the floor. His eyes then swiveled to the red eyed demon that stood protectively over the unconscious body of his grand daughter. Even though the demon's clothes were red, he was able to see the large, wet spot that made it an even deeper hue. His eyes widened even more when he discovered the source of it. "Oh kami!" before any other thought could be filtered through his brain he dashed out of the room to the nearest phone that he could find. His thin fingers trembled mightily as he attempted to dial the emergency number. When he got the assurance that an ambulance would be on the way, he took in a deep breath and prayed fervently to Kami above that his grandchild would be alright.

Thanks for reading my story!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: The characters of Inuyasha do not belong to me. I am simply borrowing them for my own entertainment.

Chapter 1

*******

After Higurashi- sama had left the room, Inuyasha turned his attention back to the small body that lay nestled amongst the rumbled sheets of the hospital bed. Her pale skin glowed iridescently in the sparse moonlight that filtered in through the small window. The constant beeps of the machines that fed blood in through her arm made his ears twitch in mild annoyance. He pressed his forehead against their conjoined hands as he thought back on the night. He had sworn to protect her and yet when she had needed him the most he had failed.

"Please come back to me… I'm not worthy of you but I swear..." his words trailed off as he squeezed his eyes shut in an attempt to prevent the hot rush of liquid from coming forth. He jumped slightly when he felt a light touch to his ears.

"Inuyasha?" his name was spoken in a hushed whisper. He rose up from his seated position in order to move closer to her side. His eyes closed as he felt the soft hand that caressed his cheek before his attention was grabbed by the trembling of said hands. "Inuyasha please, take me away. I want to go home" were the soft words that tumbled from Kagome's bruised lips. An uncontrollable urge crept up from within him to whisk her away from this era and take her to where the dangers were more tangible. In his time, he at least knew what those dangers were; what he had to protect her from. He had no fear in hunting down and killing enemies that threatened her, whether if it was with his tetsusaiga or with his bare hands.

He looked into her deep, blue eyes, eyes that reflected the horrors that were seen earlier tonight, the innocence stripped from her as easily as her clothes were from her body. The two men that were there earlier, the police was what Higurashi- sama called them, had promised to find the bastards."W_hat did they know_?" Inuyasha didn't trust them one bit.

He felt that he was better equipped to hunt down the scum and he knew that he would. The policemen had spoken of other cases where young women were abducted, raped, beaten and left for dead. They suspected that these happenings were just one in few crimes committed by an underground organization called the yamaguchi- gumi headed by someone called Kazuo Taoka. He could care less. All that really mattered to him was getting the ones responsible for his mate's condition, nothing more and nothing less.

He was pulled out from his reverie by the gentle tugging of his sleeve. He felt a swell of protectiveness surge up within him and he fought to keep his youkai under control least he hurt the woman he loved.

"I'm sorry koishi, but I can't, I wish I could but you've lost too much blood", he whispered gruffly. He felt pain strike through him when he smelt the tears that were on the verge of falling. "I'll get you the hell outta here when that beeping thing is done. They can try to stop me but I'm taking you home." He swore violently when the tears still threatened to come.

He had little clue as to what else to do since he had very little experience in comforting anyone. Finally he settled on following his instincts as he leaned over carefully and gently lifted her up off the bed and onto his lap. As he cuddled her close to his heart, he allowed himself to soothe her with light kisses to her forehead, muttering mindlessly of how he would care for her and what lay ahead of them in the future.

Soon there would come a time when this dark cloud that loomed menacingly overhead would disappear. Until then he would cherish her and their time together as he intended to continue to do so in the future.

It was only five minutes later that he felt her body slacken and the sound of her breathing slow. Inuyasha allowed himself to enjoy several more minutes with her in his arms before he got up and placed her back onto the high bed. He tightened his fists and growled lowly before sweeping out from the room. His intention made clear when he found Higurashi- sama still standing with the police men.

Inuyasha felt his hackles rise as he realized that the men stood in a semi- circle around the distraught woman as though to prevent her from escaping them. Kagome's mother had been through a lot tonight, there was no need for these men to harass her, especially when she could not answer their questions.

He stomped his way across the wide hallway and placed his body in such a way as to cut of the men's view of the small woman. His action was due to a subconscious urge to prove to his mate that he would protect their pups as vehemently as he would protect her family.

The men's expressions showed their shock when this 6'3" young man, sporting a blue base ball cap and red traditional Japanese dress stepped in the midst of their interrogation. They were unsure what was going on but by his irate expression, they realized that the boy was obviously upset that they were talking to the victim's mother.

One of the police men glanced quickly at his notes from the mother's statement and deduced that this was the Inuyasha that had found the girl. The officer raised an eyebrow at the odd name but then decided that it was very fitting when he glimpsed up at the boy again. The snarl that was twisted upon the boy's mouth, that had yet to make itself heard as well as the wild mane of silver hair and the hard golden eyes made him seem more animal than human. He inhaled and then held out his hand towards the boy.

"You must be Inuyasha, I'm Detective Nonomiya Hideki and this is my partner Detective Yamamoto Atsushi. If you would come down to the station with us we would like to ask you a few questions about what happened tonight", he backed away a step, just enough to give the boy space when the threatened snarl came forth.

"I'm not leaving Kagome here, you can ask your f**king questions here", Inuyasha made an angry slash with his hand. How dared these idiots ask him to leave his mate? He would kill them both before he set foot outside of this place without her. He felt his blood cool down when Higurashi- sama's small hand gripped the back of his hoari.

He let out a small growl when she made a move to step from behind him. In that moment, he saw where Kagome got her stubborn nature whenever he made it obvious to everyone that he was trying to protect her from harm. A small smile crept across his face as the image of Kagome in a temper tantrum popped into his head. He would accept her fits for now but when they became official, he would make it very clear to her that he was the alpha and his word was her law. He smirked as he came back to face the reality of the situation before him.

Detective Nonomiya suggested that they all take a seat in the waiting room that lay only ten feet from Kagome's room. Inuyasha contented himself with that and walked closely behind Higurashi- sama. He would be damned if he allowed these men to harass her further. As they all settled in the chairs set in a circle around a low table, Inuyasha took the time to study these men as they proceeded to set up for the interrogation by taking out pads, pens and a small funny looking device.

Nonomiya was obviously the elder of the two with black hair that had bits of white streaked through it. He was perhaps in his mid thirties to early forties, he could not be sure. There were lines on his face around the eyes and mouth, lines that would have been more abundant on the face of a sengoku jidai man around the same age. The man also sported a neatly trimmed mustache and dark brown eyes that were slanted so severely they made the whites of his eyes nearly invisible. He wore one of those black modern day garments that Kagome had once called a suit that encased him tightly and made his heavy bulk more noticeable. His build wasn't that of a fat man but more of a barrel- chested man who had been a muscular in his younger days. He shifted his attention to the other man that had up to this moment, remained silent.

The man was younger, leaner and shorter than Inuyasha himself. Yamamoto stood at perhaps 5'7". His hair was a light brown, with red highlights that were seen every time the man bent his head in the light. He wore a suit of a similar design as Nonomiya in a navy blue color. Inuyasha would probably have described the man perhaps as a silent observer. His lavender gaze took in everything of interest around the room from the women in white kimonos passing quickly down the hall, to the nervous, jittery action of a young man standing before the elevator doors.

When their eyes collided, a test of wills erupted where neither could move their eyes away from the other. Inuyasha felt a surge of respect well up within him at the backbone that the young man exhibited. Although Inuyasha was much older than the man, his eyes were those of an older man who had bore witness to many horrors. He shifted his calculating gaze back to Nonomiya when he cleared his throat loudly.

"What is your last name Inuyasha?" When Nonomiya looked up, he was met with a blank golden stare from said man. He felt a bit flustered to have this young man face him with a mask with a complete lack of emotions that he should not have possessed at such a young age. Before he could repeat the question, thinking that perhaps the boy had not heard, his questioned was answered by Higurashi Ikumi- san.

"Takahashi… his last name is Takahashi. He's twenty years old and is visiting from Kobe." Nonomiya scribbled down the information quickly, and exchanged a quick glance with his partner as he noted the flash of surprise that came upon the boy's face at Higurashi-san's answer. Interesting, he thought to himself. They would have to get the boy alone at some point so that they could question him without any outside influences. There was more to the story than met the eye.

"Alright Inuyasha, tell me exactly what you saw tonight", Nonomiya watched as the boy first looked to Higurashi- san then drew in a deep breath before answering. As he began to describe the night's events, Nonomiya was mildly surprised at the level of detail that Inuyasha was able to give out. He was able to describe how the street that led to the subway looked and sounded from the debris on the dais that led him to finding the girl. What the detective found extremely interesting was how the boy was able to tell that the girl had been accosted by two men who later met up with about six other individuals. Even more confusing was how the boy spoke more about the scents of sake and another smoky scent on the men. Where had this young man come from?

"Tell me officer… when will we be able to see some results of this investigation?" Ikumi was quick to insert when the detective made movements to pack up their equipment.

"I can't be certain Higurashi- san. We won't be able to get very far until we take in the girl's testimony. We're going to need the men's description and if she remembers anything else from the attack." Detective Yamamoto made his first entry into the conversation since Inuyasha, had entered the scene. Throughout the entire inquiry, the young detective was quick to note that the young man was able to give out staggering information about the crime scene that most rookies entering the force was unable to catch.

The detectives were startled when Inuyasha rose up suddenly, nearly knocking back the chair that he had been sitting in.

"Kagome isn't going to talk to you. I won't allow it," was the snarled rejoinder. "If there's anyone here that you guys are going to deal with, it's gonna be with me."

"Inuyasha, please! The police just want to help," again Ikumi rested a calming hand on Inuyasha's arm. "They're going to have to speak to her to find out more about the attackers."

Inuyasha to say the least was not one bit happy about the situation, but he had no other choice but to defer to Higurashi- sama's advice. In this time, he knew next to nothing about how things worked, and this in itself frustrated him more than anything else. How could he protect Kagome if he didn't know what he had to protect her from?

He gave out a heavy sigh. He would co- operate for now with these policemen but he would also carry out his own investigation. He needed time to formulate a plan of action but Kagome came first. Her ordeal ensured that she would need him to comfort her and he would be there. When he felt that she had recovered enough he would take her back to Sengoku Jidai and then come back to hunt down her attackers. He would avenge her, police or no police!

Thanks for reading my story. Please be sure to review!


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters.

Chapter 2

***

When she opened her eyes, she was quick to close them back again. The stream of light that came in through the small window on her right offered her poor eyes no respite. She lay there a few more moments, allowing herself to slowly become aware of her quiet surroundings, of the dull aching of her body. What was going on? What had happened to her?

As she continued to lie back with her eyes closed, she allowed thoughts to filter in through her conscious mind. She remembered begging Inuyasha to allow her to travel back to her time. What was the reason again? Exams maybe? No, it was so that she could go out with her friends to celebrate Yuka's eighteenth birthday. Yes that was it. She smiled to herself as she remembered the cute pouting face of her dog eared savior as he stood inside Kaede's hut, his profile turned to her, arms crossed as he refused to even contemplate her leaving.

Inuyasha was always adorable whenever he tried to stop her from going back to her own time. She had always wondered why that was, only to shut herself off when they became too hopeful towards how the hanyou felt about her. If she ever allowed deluded thoughts into her head that tried to persuade her that perhaps Inuyasha might have stronger feelings for her other than friendship, it was not for long. It was never for too long. The constant reminder of Kikyo loomed ever present at the back of her mind. It was she that Inuyasha loved and would continue to love. She pushed those depressing thoughts aside and decided to save them for another time.

She vaguely remembered being at the club with her friends, of losing them and then off heading towards the station. She remembered standing on the train dais waiting and then nothing but the darkness. What happened from there she did not know, it was all a blank.

Feeling as though she had allowed enough time to pass, she slowly opened her eyes, squinting slightly when the glare of the sun reflected off the window attacked her again. She blinked rapidly, only to widen them in confusion when she stared at barren white walls of a small room, instead of on the brightly painted pink walls of her own room at the shrine or the wooden walls of Kaede's hut.

"Where am I?" She was mildly surprised when she asked the question. That voice had not sounded like her own but instead of like that of a weak, frail person.

She shifted her arms in an attempt to give herself leverage, but found even that simple task difficult. Her arms trembled mightily before giving out completely and she found herself lying flat on her back. The dull aching pain that had only until that moment been unnoticeable, flared up with wild abandoned. The ache was gut wrenching, almost like a hammering that pounded down her lower half. She curled in upon herself into the fetal position and gave out a weak whimper. Her breathing was shaky, erratic, coming out in great puffs.

She was completely unaware of the door being slammed open, of the strong masculine arms that scooped her up from the bed, of the scent of forest and sweat rising up around her, or even of the low resonating hum of a man's voice whispering into her hair.

***

After the police officers had left them with a promise to return later that day when Kagome had awakened, time seemed to flow by quickly. The sun had begun to rise when Higurashi- sama had decided to find the healer that had taken care of Kagome. Throughout the early morning, Inuyasha had stood vigil in front of Kagome's door.

His thoughts continued to race as he pondered more upon the information the police had given him and the scents that he had come across at the scene. The police wanted to see the area that Kagome had been found and he had agreed to take them later because he himself wanted to take another look to make sure that he hadn't missed anything the first time around.

There were very few leads that he could follow that would help him to find his targets. He had their scents but the city was full of thousands of other scents that could either confuse him or lead him onto a completely false path. No, now that he had the chance to think rationally on this, he realized that the aid from the police was very tantamount to his hunt. They had access to a wealth of information, not to mention contacts within the yamaguchi- gumi that could help him. He decided then and there that he would offer the police his skills and help them in their investigation.

His thoughts were interrupted by weak whimpering coming from the door behind him. He forgot all else and slammed open the door only to find Kagome curled up on herself and crying. He rushed forward, scooping her up into his arms, muttering nonsensically in an attempt to soothe her pain. He fell back into the chair behind him and rocked her back and forth, all the while tightening his on her.

"I'm here Kagome. I won't let anything hurt you, I swear," he spoke softly but vehemently. They stayed that way for a few minutes until her sobs began to subside and even then, he refused to loosen his grip.

"Inuyasha? What's going on? What happened to me? It was something bad wasn't it", tears pooled at the corner of her eyes. She gazed up at him when he continued to remain silent. "Inuyasha… please tell me!"

She clenched her fists in his hoari and watched the myriad of expressions flit across his handsome face. A face the she had spent many a long hour gazing at, day dreaming of him exchanging loving expressions with his beautiful golden eyes. The grim look on his handsome face was a tale onto itself.

She watched his face hardened into a mask of cold resolve before turn completely blank. She was sure that he did not realize that at that moment he so much resembled his more stoic older brother. The similarities between the two were startling, although to the eyes of an outsider, the brothers were as different from each other as night and day. They were both stubborn in their own unique way, their actions, as well as the reasons behind those actions, basically motivated by similar thought processes.

She had realized long ago, that despite his human appearance, Inuyasha was very basic (some would say animalistic) in his way of thinking. For instance, his attitude towards the females in their little rag tag group. He respected both her and Sango but it was obvious that he still thought them to be of the weaker sex.

Kagome was careful to take into consideration the era that Inuyasha was brought up in as well as its antiquated views on women and politics, for even Miroku at times showed this same way of thinking. However, it seemed to her that Inuyasha was even more inclined to this way of thinking, almost as though it were instinctual. He tried very hard to hide some of his reactions to her somewhat outspoken not to mention brazen moments, however it seemed obvious to her that he fought a battle within himself. It was as though he were in a constant struggle to tamp down the urge to subdue her in some way.

Sango had helped to come to some of these realizations. For the past year, the demon exterminator had done her utmost best to educate her in the way of youkai so that she could better understand the hanyou and why he seemed more inclined to fight with her when she sought to get her own way. Apparently it was all a dominance thing for Inuyasha; a role that she often tried to wrest from him whenever she sought to go home to her own time.

She tried her best to be mindful of the differences between their ways, however it seemed that the hanyou relished in provoking her to the very edge of her control. This was something that she could not understand, because every time she got fed up with the argument and sought to end it by either stomping off or sitting him, she was certain that there was almost always a glint of disappointment in his eyes.

She was shaken from her thoughts by the sharp pain that ripped through her side. She let out a loud groan as she squeezed her eyes tightly enough that tears seeped from the corners. The nearly desperate hold that the Inuyasha had previously held her in loosened automatically. His gaze soft with concern and remorse searched her face as though seeking a way to stop the pain there.

"I'm sorry, I got a little carried away… you okay?" his voice was low and soothing, the deep growl of it sending goose bumps racing up and down her spine. The occasions were rare that he spoke so softly, usually only when she was injured or on his human nights with thoughts of his mother fresh on his mind.

She loved all facets of her hanyou, his gruff demonic side as well as his softer human side. She wondered if he knew that. If he knew that she would always remain by his side no matter what his decision regarding the shikon jewel. All that mattered to her was his happiness. If she could give that to him then all the pain from his not loving her would be worth it. This train of thought brought on a different kind of pain.

She must have shown a bit of what she was feeling on her face because his response was swift to her perceived discomfort. His dark brows were drawn down heavily above the golden glitter of his eyes, his lips hard with frustration at not being able to relieve her of that pain. His shoulders were stiff, tense, ready to strike at any danger least it present itself around her. She smiled to herself as she waved his concern away. Her smile fell as she shifted slightly in an effort to become more comfortable, a reminder that she was not where she was supposed to be.

"Inuyasha, tell me. Why am I in a hospital?"

He sighed heavily before lifting her back onto the bed. His body was rigid, his hands fisted so tightly that the knuckles were white.

"I don't know how to say this. Tch… I hate this", he turned away from her angrily and walked towards the window to her right. He leaned heavily against the sill and did not move for several minutes. Fear crept up beneath her breast; it suffocated her. She knew her hanyou, knew that he was never at a loss for words. His rhetoric for any and everything were at times annoying but she could always count on him to be honest with her.

"Just tell me…please," she whispered brokenly, a tear fell down her cheek, the anxiety of wanting to know and also of not wanting to know what he had to say was very much unbearable. So much so that sweat had broken out on her palms. She watched as he ran his hand roughly through the silken hair at his brow before swinging back to face her. He strode to her side in two giant steps, grasping her cold, damp hands into his larger, warmer ones. She had never seen that bleak look of despair on his face before. It was hard for her to imagine what could have happened to put it there but she knew it to be something terrible.

"I wasn't there to protect you and for that I'm so sorry. If only I had come sooner instead of being a fool and making excuses. I never should have let you leave, not without me!" It was obvious that he was frustrated as evidenced by the flexing of his hands upon her. She felt a surge of anger wash through her. Why would he not tell? Why was he stalling like this? Did he not know that the longer he kept it from her, the more fear ate at her?

She watched him sniff at the air around her, knew that he smelled her anger, her fear. The widening of his eyes told her so. He shifted his weight onto the bed before letting out a sigh of resignation before looking at her.

"You were raped", the words were like a punch to the gut. She felt the air rush from her lungs. She had not expected that, never that. She sat still unable to move, a dazed look on her face. She could see that he was serious, his expression alone enough to reveal the truth to her. The walls of the little white room started to close in on her, darkness tinting and eating away at the edge of her vision. Why was it suddenly so hard to breathe? Her slip from consciousness was gradual, the husky timber of his voice whispering apologies and promises to never let anything harm her again. Her last thought in response to that was maybe it was already too late to save her.

Thanks for reading my story. Don't forget to review please.


	4. Chapter 4

I do not own Inuyasha in any way, shape or form. I just love it so please enjoy my story.

Chapter 3

***

He watched the steady rise and fall of her chest, his thoughts racing through his head. Higurashi- sama sat at the bedside, stroking her daughter's soft, bruised brow whilst whispering reassurances. Kagome laid there comatose, unmindful to everything around her. She could not hear her mother speaking and he was left puzzled as to why the woman persisted in doing so as though the girl were wide awake.

She had not awakened since she fainted two hours ago and he could not say if that were due to the drugs administered to her by the woman in white or from some inner turmoil in her mind. He supposed that it was more of a comfort to Higurashi- sama to continue on as normal and think that all was right in her daughter's world.

He turned back to stare down at the not so busy street through the window of the small aesthetic room. The healer had come into the room an hour ago and had pulled Higurashi-sama to the side speaking in soft tones as if to block him out of the conversation. He smiled just a bit at the thought.

If the man knew what he was then he would have taken the woman to another floor of the building. He had not protested since he had heard the healer just as loud as if the man had been speaking to him directly.

He grimaced to himself as he remembered how the doctor had described the full extent of Kagome's injuries. The injuries would have meant nothing to him had he been the one to receive them, as they would have healed in a matter of hours.

However, for Kagome's small frail body, they would take weeks to mend. The man wanted to keep Kagome in the hospital for at least one more night so that he could observe her further for any difficulties that would prevent her from being comfortable at home.

The plan that he had formulated to take her back to his time had immediately dissolved when he heard of the possible difficulties that might present themselves during her healing period. He did not want to take her back to his time in the state that she was in for a number of reasons.

These "infeck-tions" sounded serious and he knew that the type of medicines that the healer described were not available in his time. Perhaps Kaede could have found something that would have helped her discomfort but there was little that she could do to help her fight off the dreaded fever.

The scent of fresh blood and sickness clung to her heavily, surrounding her in a thick miasma of vulnerability. That alone coupled with the lure of the shikon jewel would prove to be too much of a temptation to resist. The lower level youkai that lurked about in the forest would abandon all caution in their frenzied state to acquire power.

Of course he would revel in the mindless killing spree that the situation would induce as it would be a way to release his frustration unchecked. However, he would not risk Kagome's safety by taking any chances.

There was a possibility that some stray rabble could manage to sneak past him when he was distracted. Even worse, Naraku could somehow find a way to take advantage of their time of weakness and strike them where it would hurt the most. No, it would be better to keep her in this era until he finished his business here.

In any event he needed to go back to sengoku jidai so that he could explain their absence to the other pack mates. There was also another matter that he needed to take care of.

The time had come for him to step up and claim his mate but he could not do that now. Not yet, not as he was now. He struggled with the decision he had to make.

The thought of even having to humble himself, let alone having to beg for his brother's recognition as a member of the taiyoukai clan, almost too much to bear. It rankled to have to need his brother for anything but if he wanted to give Kagome a name and the protection of a strong clan, he would have to.

His time was different from her own, last names represented the power and legacy of one's house. In sengoku jidai, only royalty and noble men held the honor of last names, whilst here it seemed every one held that privilege.

His birth right was never something that he thought he would ever have a need for. He had not thought of claiming it even when he had thought of sharing his life with Kikyo.

He was sure that she would not have accepted it in any event, especially when she seemed so intent on pushing away from his demonic heritage and more towards his human side.

He turned away from the window to stare at Kagome prone body, sleeping peacefully. The doctor had given Kagome medication to help relieve her pain, medication that made her sleep for the majority of the day.

As he turned back to stare out at the busy metropolis below he thought to himself that the journey to the western lands would not take him longer than two days if he pushed himself without resting.

Months ago, Myouga had tried to encourage him to go to his ancestral home and claim his birth right. He had tried to emphasize the need for him to take up his position as the second son of the great Inutaisho, if not for himself then for his mate.

He had scoffed at the idea of ever having to bow his head to his ignoble, self- righteous older brother or pretend to be something that he was not just to keep a bunch of stodgy, old bastards happy.

He had been arrogant in his certainty that Kagome would accept him if he came to her as he was, with nothing to offer her but the clothes on his back. He still was in fact. He did not see why he should not have been confident. Had she not told him that very thing repeatedly for the past two years?

Kagome was different from Kikyo, she accepted him as he was. She saw him for who he was inside and not for what he was. He had not cared to go to his brother then but he did now. The recent events had made it a priority now.

He had been cocky not to have realized that his strength alone would not be enough to protect her from the wrath of humans and demons alike. The humans in his time would not see her as a powerful miko to be respected but as a whore to a demon.

The danger of a similar occurrence as this one would become the norm. His mate would continually live her life in fear and eventually she would come to resent him and any pups that they would produce.

He knew that if he wanted to protect her from such a fate, he had to rise from his current station in life. If he were to be recognized as a demon prince, then everyone would think twice before they sought to harm her. The fear alone of bringing down the wrath of a clan of demons would prove a most powerful deterrent for even the boldest human or demon.

He could swallow his pride if it meant that she would be safe, if it meant that she would be happy. It would have taking all of hell to have gotten him to grovel at the bastard's feet but for her, he would risk anything.

His decision made, he hardened his features before he swung back to face the two women. His role to Kagome was no longer as her protector and friend but as her provider and mate. There little game of courtship would have to end.

He had allowed himself to lose sight of his objective and become lax in his duties. His lack of diligence had already cost her her innocence if not her life. The next time would not be so forgiving.

The thought of losing her sent a searing shock of pain straight to his heart. Things needed to change without a doubt and for the better. He would not risk her life again.

She would balk once he began to flex his dominance over her because she was an independent woman as she always harped on about. She could remain independent but only by his rules.

Her tongue would be curbed just a bit but not too much. He liked it when she got feisty but she would have to learn to deal with him without always resorting to sitting him. He had tolerated it before but not now. These beads were a joke to him.

He had always allowed her to believe that she had complete control over him. The subjugation spell never lasted longer that a few seconds, certainly not long enough for her to escape him and jump through the well. He chuckled to himself as he thought that Shippo's subduing spell had proven to be more effective than the beads.

She would forgive him eventually for his deception, he was sure of her feelings, confident of her love. She had forgiven him when he had done things that would have shaken a lesser woman.

Of course she would disappear through the well for a few days but she had always returned to his side. If that was not love he did not know what to call it. Both his youkai and human side both echoed their agreement wholeheartedly.

He would seek an audience with his brother as soon as he got Kagome settled. This day marked a new beginning for them both. He would prove himself worthy of her no matter what.

Sorry it took so long to update but here you go. DOn't forget to review please. Thanks!


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Inuyasha does not belong to me although I just love the show.

Thanks so much for those of you who sent in reviews.

Chapter 4

***

The rays of the early morning sun broke through the glass panes of the window. Its beams reflected colorfully off of the glass lamp, setting pretty lights to dance on the opposite wall. Those flickering lights were the first to greet her when she opened her eyes.

She squinted and tried to adjust them to the light as she shifted to her side. She gasped softly at the pain that throbbed through out her body. She realized that moving her legs was more painful to her than opening her eyes but she refused to remain abed.

How much time had she spent in bed she did not know but judging from the ache in her muscles she guessed it to have been awhile.

Struggling to sit upright, taking careful stock of her surroundings and was brought to the sharp reality of finding nothing that seemed familiar. Why was that? She closed her eyes and fought to remember.

Where was she and how did she get here? When she tried to think back as to how she got there she drew a blank and huffed in frustration as she kicked the blanket to the side. The harder she tried, the more frustrated she became.

Looking around once more her eyes fell upon a bundle of red cloth that seemed to be packed away in the corner. She leaned forward, squinting once more so that she could see it better but was quick to pull back when said bundle shifted position.

She breathed released the breath that she had not noticed that she had been holding. She smiled tremulously as her body relaxed.

"Inuyasha", at the sound the bundle of red sprung up in a swirl of energy and snarls, jumping to immediate attention. Heavily hooded golden eyes stared out at her from beneath overlong, snow white bangs.

He looked so adorable, standing there blinking owlishly at her that she could not contain her laughter. His perplexed expression slowly shifted from one of sleepy bewilderment to one of agitation, his dark brows drawing down heavily over narrowed eyes. His posture shifted from one of attack, his arms quickly crossing over his chest.

"What are you laughing at wench?"

"You are, you look so silly."

"Stop laughing would ya, b***!"

Her laughter died away quickly only to be replaced by anger. It was always this way. He would always find a way of getting her so angry that all she wanted to do was to throttle him. Conceding to the point that she could not do that physically, she felled him with the only attack available in her arsenal that could.

"Sit!" and with that, Inuyasha crashed face first to the floor with what Kagome silently thought was a most satisfying thump.

"Why you….what did you do that for?" he shouted, jumping immediately to his feet and pointed a trembling finger into her face aggressively. At his tone she bristled some more and she surged to her feet.

"Well….", her sentence quickly died away as a wave of dizziness washed over her, her legs quivered and could not support her. She could feel herself falling but before she could hit the ground she was being swept up into strong, masculine arms. Inuyasha. She pressed her face into his warm neck and smiled idiotically as she clutched his hoari in her small pale hand.

No matter what happened between them, she knew that she could always count on her hanyou to be there to catch her if she ever fell. She spread her hands slowly across his chest to rest them over his shoulder and sighed in contentment.

When had his chest gotten so broad and his shoulders so wide and sturdy? It was obvious that he no longer was the boy that she had met two years ago just as she was no longer the same girl. As he had gotten older, his body had gotten leaner. He had lost its boyishness, only to leave behind the sharp, angular features that made him almost as beautiful as Sesshomaru.

She giggled as she imagined what his expression would be if he ever found out that she had compared him to his half- brother or even having thought him as being beautiful.

She came back to herself when she felt herself being laid back against the pillows. She refused to loosen her grip on him and was surprised when after a brief hesitation he laid down beside her. She was even more shocked when he pulled her closer to his warm body, a proximity that he rarely if ever initiated unless he was injured.

She gave a brief thought to this radical change in his behavior but then decided that his arms felt too good for her to care just as long as he didn't let go. She felt herself dozing off but his deep baritone began to sweep gently over her.

"I thought that you had lost you. I… I've never been so scared for anyone in my life. I don't know what I would've done……. Kagome," he pulled her even closer, almost crushing her in his embrace. He nuzzled into her neck, gave it a kiss so fleeting that she thought that she had imagined it. How should she respond to that?

The pain that she heard in his voice was so real, that it made her ache. She had not witnessed such naked emotion from him, not since that night of the bandit episode when he had lost control to his youkai. She wanted to soothe his hurt, if only for a little while.

She brought her hand to the side of his face in a soothing caress and kissed his brow that was still creased in a frown. She repeated the gesture again and again, pressing small kisses over his face before finally resting her lips firmly on his. She spared little thought of how bold he might have thought but instead focused on transmitting her feelings to him through the kiss that ended all too soon.

She pulled back and opened her eyes to find him watching her with a heavy lidded gaze. Her eyes widened when he moved closer and caught her lips in a fiery kiss. A kiss that was so laden with passion that it caused her toes curled.

It was a full minute before she recovered enough from shock to respond. She allowed herself to become lost in the earnest passion as he devoured her lips as though he were a man dying of thirst and she his only salvation.

She had never thought that he would be a great kisser, but this kiss proved her wrong and was enough to completely muddle her thoughts. She gripped his arms tightly for it was all that she could do to keep herself from falling too deeply under the drugging effect of his passion. Even still she could not help the moan that passed form her lips unbidden. He swallowed that and groaned into her mouth, whispering her name.

It was a long time after that when she finally realized that he had stopped kissing her. That he now lay over her watching the expressions flit across her face, his own void of any.

She made her small noise of confusion. Where had the passionate hanyou gone? Who was this stranger staring down at her so stoically?

She lifted her hand to cup his cheek, her fingers sliding into his hair, rising to scratch his furry white ears. He closed his eyes briefly and bit his lip almost as if to stifle the groan that came out in spite of. She smiled; he could not hide from her. She knew him better than she knew herself sometimes.

"Inuyash..." he stopped her with a clawed finger to her swollen lips. His golden eyes following its path. He caressed it with both finger and gaze before looking back into her blue grey eyes and leaning forward to brush over them with his lips.

He was slow to rise but he said, "Go to sleep. We will talk later." She nodded obediently before smiling softly.

***

Inuyasha swore softly to himself when he knew she had fallen asleep. He was a bastard, plain and simple. How could he have allowed himself to ravish her the way that he had whilst she still lay recuperating? They could not get carried away now, not until she was fully healed. He whined pitifully to himself.

"Dammit!"

It had been one hell of a kiss, one that he could not wait to repeat but would have to. It was for her own good. He rose swiftly from the bed. He would tell Higurashi- Sama to take her home. Once he knew she was safe there, he could then start on his plans. The sooner that bit of unpleasant business with his brother was over, the better… for everyone.

***

When she awakened again, it was to glimpse the concerned face of her mother hovering above her. It was evident from the creases that ran along her face that sleep had eluded her for sometime. Kagome felt a wave of remorse wash over her, knowing that she was the cause of that concern.

"I'm so sorry mama," she sobbed, her arms stretched forward to embrace her. She felt a little better the minute she felt her mother's arms lock around her. Kagome thought back but could hardly remember the last time she had felt such comfort in her mother's arms.

"Hush now dear, there's no need for apologies. All we can do now is heal and move on from this night mare."

Her mother's arms tightened briefly before she pulled back to look into her daughter's confused face. In her mind Kagome was drawing a blank as to what her mother could possibly be talking a about. A nightmare? What was she not remembering? Why was she really in the hospital? Then she remembered the words that Inuyasha had said to her the night before. Almost as though from a distance, the words echoed out from her memory.

"You were raped Kagome".

She felt queasy all over again and there was an express need to faint again. She had been raped? She did not recall that. She didn't want to. Why would some one do that to another person and still call themselves human? She hugged her arms around herself and turned watery eyes to her mother.

"Mama, I want to go home. Please!"

***

Inuyasha stood just outside the door listening to Higurashi- Sama do her best to stifle Kagome's hysterical sobs. He clenched his claws into a tight fist. He wanted to be in there with her, to soothe away her tears himself, but he feared her reaction. He could not bear it if she flinched away from him, especially not after this morning.

Life could be so cruel most especially towards women. He had seen many who had suffered the after effects of brutal attacks in his time.

Most of them were able to find a way to live normally despite the nightmares, the anxiety, and the fear of another attack. Some though never recovered. It almost was like their lives had been drained from their bodies and all that was left was a hollow shell of their former selves. In cases like that, it was not long until death consumed them.

He did not know what he would do if Kagome turned down that path. He refused to think about it. She would get better but only after she had the reassurance that her attackers were dead and buried.

"Tch, I'll get 'em Kagome. You can count on that," he murmured. It was time to for him to see his brother. He would leave tonight and hopefully be back in two days.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 5

***

He grunted as his bare feet touched the soft packed earth at the bottom of the well. The full moon's glare chased away the dark shadows that loomed around him. All was quiet in the surrounding forest, its stillness broken every now and then by the faint sound of rustling leaves and the snapping of twigs made by those animals that preferred to hunt at night.

He bent his knees and with a mighty push, propelled himself up and out of the well with easy grace. His eyes adjusted quickly to the moon lit expanse of the forested area. His gaze steady and all- seeing like that of a hawk, as he scanned the area for any threats that might be lurking nearby.

He did not move a muscle until he was sure that nothing had escaped his vigil. One could not be too careful in this time where Naraku's reach stretched out from far and wide in a diabolical attempt to claim unsuspecting creatures.

Naraku was capable of cruel and twisted manipulation. His diabolical use of said influence was used in the most vile and evil ways to turn friend against friend, brother against brother. The thought alone was enough to make him sick.

Satisfied that all was clear, he broke off into a quick sprint, his destination, the village where he and his pack normally resided when they were not hunting for shards of the shikon jewel. The scenery flew by him as he hurriedly made his way through the dense underbrush of leaves and brushes.

He spared nary a glance for his surroundings, the dense copse of foliage and the dimly lit pathways as familiar to him as his own body. His thoughts wandered back to the young woman that he had left five hundred years into the future.

Kagome had been noticeably upset when she had found out that he was leaving her that night and would not return for another two. The memory of the hurt that had flashed briefly in her blue grey eyes was still fresh; however it was not what had almost stayed him. It was not what had nearly made him forget his self-imposed mission. It was also not what had almost made him want to gather her up into his arms and never want to let go.

It had been the fear that she had tried valiantly to hide from him, the fear that had made her spine stiffen and her small hands clutch at the bed covers so hard that they had turned white. In all the years that they had travelled together, he knew her fear, the smell of it. He knew the acrid taste it left in the back of his throat.

But this was a different fear, a fear more poignant. One that proved to be more debilitating for him since it made clear his complete powerlessness in relieving her of it.

This had not been the fear of death but it had been the fear of life. The fear of living with pain that was so powerful, of having to learn to cope with it alone, of wanting to cope with it alone because of the intense feeling of mortification that it inspired.

He had understood himself to be weak at that point in time, for he had stood rooted to his spot at her bedside, unable to tear his eyes away from her saddened face. He had watched as she cocooned her self in that shell of false cheerfulness in order to protect herself, in order to close herself off from everything…from him.

When she had begun to tremble, he had managed to shake himself out of his stupor. He had staggered towards her, his body too riddled with regret to stay upright, and then without a sound he had crushed her fragile body to his own.

He remembered whispering words to her, making promises that he had been unsure that he would be able to keep but would fight in order that he could. Then worst of all he had begged her to trust him.

He could not believe that he had begged her, he never begged. It was almost as though she too could not believe that he had done so because it was then that her cries had overtaken her body. Her small frame had been racked with gut wrenching sobs that had seemed uncontrollable. He had known then and there that if he did not leave right at that moment then he never would. Despite knowing that, he had stayed later than he had wanted to.

He had climbed up on her bed and had held her until her crying had stopped, until she had snuggled closer and nuzzled her nose into his neck. Even then he still had not left until she had clutched at his hoari and in a shaken voice begged him to return as fast as possible. He had been too shocked to reply and instead had merely held her closer to his side.

She had taken a deep breath before she had drifted off to sleep and it was another five minutes before he had carefully moved off the bed. He had watched her and had wandered at her dark beauty that had seemed almost ethereal in the moonlight. He had made his escape quickly after that.

He snapped back to attention when he noted the light of the burning torches in the village. All the villagers had already gone to bed except for a few of those who continued to mill about preparing to bed down for the night. He could hear the quiet chatter of some of the inhabitants as he passed by under the hut windows. Those who remained outside ventured to give him a wave of welcome.

He smiled wistfully thinking back to how in only the two years since Kagome had come into his life, the villagers that had once seen him as an abhorrence to be endured, now received him into their midsts. It was ironic really how they only did so for her sake and not because he put his life on the line in an effort to protect them. No, humans would never be so generous.

Kaede's hut glowed from within and movement was easily detected from within. The old girl must not be able to sleep which always seemed to be the case nowadays. Kaede called it the pains of old age, a sure sign that her finals days were before her. His snort of disgust rang out into the night; with the way his karma flowed, the old gal would be alive for another hundred years.

He reached out and brushed the tatami mat that covered the door aside and stepped up into the warm hut. He had not realized how cold it was outside until he had and it only served to remind him that winter was fast approaching. He made a mental note to himself to hunt for meat and gather wood for the old woman later when he returned from his trip.

The light of the spitfire caused his eyes to glow an eerie amber hue as he paused to scan the interior for it occupants. The old woman was up as he had suspected, mashing and mixing herbs in a clay bowl by the fire.

Shippo, the wily little fox demon lay in the far corner snuggled up in Kagome's sleeping bag with Kilala. The cat demon in her deceptively small form watched him silently with her gleaming red eyes, her fluffy tail lazily swaying behind her. She mewed a soft greeting to him before shifting her tiny body and curling in closer around Shippo's.

He snorted to himself. He found it just a tad bit disturbing how a dangerous, bloodletting beast could be so mild and cute, as Kagome would say.

He shook his head, sending the heavy strands of his snow- white hair cascading over his shoulders. He realized that thoughts of Kagome and things Kagome would say were starting to become prevalent and occupied a large portion of his mind. He would have to watch that because although he loved her and wanted her for his mate, he could not allow himself to show how much she meant to him. He had too many enemies to allow himself that freedom.

"You're back early. Where's Kagome? Did she sit you back though the well?" He spun around when he had heard the lazy drawl behind him.

Miroku sat crossed legged in the corner closet to the door. He noted that the perverted monk's arrogant smirk and red, swollen cheek were completely at odds with each other. He glanced around and noted the marked absence of the youkai slayer but also took in the now interested gaze of the old woman who had stopped grinding her herbs to listen. _Nosy old fart_, he thought ungraciously. He directed a sneer at Miroku.

"What's the matter? Sango get tired of smacking your sorry ass around?" he said coolly.

"Of course not, milady is merely patrolling the outer perimeters of the village."

"Ran away from your wandering hands is more like it." He mumbled evenly.

Miroku actually had the nerve to construe his features into that of hurt innocence before replying, "Why Inuyasha, I am appalled to know that you think so lowly of me. I would never do anything to that would cause my dear Sango discomfort."

If he had thought that any chastising comment from him would have made a dent in the monk's smug visage then he had thought wrong. The little fool continued to grin up at him idiotically, apparently deciding to completely ignore that he had made an impolite response.

"Weeeelllll…?" Inuyasha gritted his teeth. The little pissant had drug out the word, knowing that the annoying sound grated on his nerves. He struggled to suppress the urge to strangle the life out of the monk and reminded himself of the reason why he had stopped here in the first place.

Completely ignoring the stupid monk and the evil grin that had grown impossibly wider, he strode over and sat down in front of the old woman. She hardly spared him a word of greeting but merely continued to quietly observe him, a habit of hers that always put on him edge. It annoyed him because he always felt that she was able to see right through him, into his mind.

It was scary to realize how wise she had become over the years especially when he was the elder of the two. Trying to prevaricate anything to the woman would be completely pointless. He took a deep breath and decided that the best way was to put everything out into the open.

The sooner the better he always thought. There was absolutely no reason to draw out a situation and avoid saying what needed to be said.

"Kagome was attacked in her time. She's fine now…physically but she won't be able to move for awhile."

His revelation was met with shock. He could see that clearly etched on the faces of both humans. The monk's face had been drained of all expression however he was also the first one to speak up after a slight pause. He was only mildly surprised at the anger that radiated in his voice.

"How was she attacked, Inuyasha? Who did it, did you mange to catch them?" The monk had risen to his feet with each passing word, his fists clenching spasmodically at his sides. Kagome was like a little sister to him and the thought of her being hurt in anyway was beyond bearing. Any monster that could so willingly hurt a girl as innocent as her deserved nothing better but to be punished in the most excruciating manner there was.

Inuyasha shared his sentiments exactly and was only mildly upset at not being able to answer him the way that he wished he could.

"She was raped and no …not yet. I haven't been able to find them but I will. "

"What do you mean? How could you have let this happen? I would've thought that that would've been your first priority?" Inuyasha jumped up at the implied insinuation, that he was incompetent in protecting Kagome. He didn't know how but somehow he and Miroku wound up standing face to face to each other, both wracked with deep shudders of barely suppressed violence.

"I would've done so but at the time Kagome was lying naked on the cold ground bleeding to death! Tell me Miroku, what would you have done in my place huh? Tell me! I would like to know!" they stood glaring heatedly at each other, both ready to take the other down.

He trembled with his anger and with the hurt of not being supported by one that he thought of as his friend. The former emotion he acknowledged wholeheartedly but the latter he squashed roughly to the side. Those kinds of thoughts were what got one killed easily, what made one seem less of a leader. Those deceptive thoughts of weakness.

His growl of annoyance was abruptly cut off by the shrill voice of the harpy on the other side of the hut.

"Both of ye please! Ye are both yelling unnecessarily! Look now, ye've frightened the poor child," listening to Kaede, they both looked over to see that indeed the small fox sat up huddled under the blanket, crying softly.

They glanced at each other, shame facedly. They were both breathing heavily and the previous tension in the hut was quickly defused. Miroku searched Inuyasha's face and mumbled something apologetically before moving over towards the trembling blanket.

Inuyasha watched as the monk pulled the blanket aside to reveal the tear stained cheeks and red puffy eyes. He was quick to assure the little demon that all was well and that there was nothing to be afraid of.

"I'm heading out to the Western lands to see Sesshomaru then back to Kagome's time." He let that hang in the air briefly before moving outside of the hut.

As he moved towards the edge of the village, he stopped to stare up at the star speckled sky, his body still taut with tension at being confronted by his pack member. It was very seldom that he ever allowed himself to feel inadequate or helpless, not since he was a child. He had promised that he would never let anyone look down at him and if they did, to at least never allow it to bother him. However, now he felt it. It hurt that one of his pack members did not think him capable of protecting his intended mate or even to avenge her.

The crunching of gravel and jangling of gold rings had him spinning around to glare at the intruder behind him. Miroku stood behind him, staring back solemnly. He stood relaxed and steady, his gloved right hand gripping the shaft of his golden shakujou. The awkward silence between them went on for a few minutes before the monk shuffled his weight nervously and spoke up.

"Look Inuyasha… back there… I don't know what came over me. It was just so shocking to have to hear that she was attacked in a place that she is supposed to be safe. I just took it out on you. I know what Kagome means to you, what you would do if you ever thought her in danger. It was wrong of me to have implied otherwise. I humbly beg your forgiveness for this most unworthy monk."

As he had spoken, Miroku had slowly sunk to the ground in a low bow that a lowly servant would have bestowed upon his lord. For a long moment, Inuyasha stood debating what to do, unsure of what to make of the situation.

He sighed heavily before he too begun to go down onto his knees before stopping midway abruptly. His youkai snarled from within at this show of submission to a lesser pack member but his human side struggled violently as well with its own need to preserve its friendship with Miroku. He felt pulled into two different directions and so decided on a middle ground and bowed from the waist before the monk.

"I too am .sorry," he would leave it at that. It was as far as his pride would allow him to go. He had never realized how hard it would be to apologize and silently prayed to the gods that he would not have to do so again. When he arose again to look up at the other man, he noticed the flash of astonishment on his face before he quickly masked it.

The monk shuffled uncertainly, kicking dirt absentmindedly before taking a deep breath and asking the question that he was itching to ask. "So what are you going to do now? You mentioned going to see Lord Sesshomaru. I fail to understand how seeking an audience with him would prove relevant to Lady Kagome's affliction."

"It has nothing to do with that, but more to do with her future," was the cryptic response.

"I don't follow Inuyasha." Miroku replied, head cocked to the side in puzzlement.

Inuyasha sighed heavily to himself. When he had thought over bridging the broken relationship with his brother, he had never visualized himself having to explain his reasoning behind it to anyone.

"It's complicated I can't discuss it with you now, not yet." A long period of silence followed after his statement.

He could feel the monk's eyes on his face studying him, trying to determine what it was that he was thinking. Inuyasha felt heat envelop his face as he turned his head just a little in his direction. He glanced at him from the corner of his eye and felt himself turning beet red at the look of understanding dawning over the monk's features. He didn't say anything. He didn't need to really because that damned smirk was back.

"Well in any event, a word of advice my friend. Be careful how you tread in territory foreign from your own. I expect that you wish to do this alone?", Miroku paused long enough to watch the hanyou give him a curt nod. "Very well, you understand then that diplomacy will be your best asset in gaining any ground with your lord brother."

Miroku didn't bother to say anything else after that. He felt that the hanyou got the message that he had been trying to convey. He turned his attention to the view of the grasslands before him.

His violet gaze roved over the planting pads that spread over acres of land, providing sustenance for the villagers. These beautiful lands that would, hopefully in the near future, provide for all the needs of his large family, when he and Sango married. _Yes, the extremely large family_, he thought lasciviously.

He listened as his companion shifted restlessly beside him before heaving a regretful sigh and shifted his attention back to him.

"I suppose that you plan to leave as soon as possible. I wish you god's speed." Inuyasha stood silently as he listened to the receding footsteps and then the soft clatter of wood as the mat was pushed to the side and then swung back into place.

Even then he continued to stand quietly, listening to the night sounds drift around him. A moment more passed before he started out on his journey.

***

_She woke to pain exploding from the back of her head and nausea clawing its way up her throat. Something hard and pointed pressed relentlessly into her stomach, her upper body swaying wildly upside down. _

_The air was still and silent except for the heavy rasping of her breath, the heavy thumping of footfalls and the rustling of cloth._

_Fear slowly crept its way up to hold her in it's vice grip. Fear of not knowing where she was swirled dizzily through her head and she wondered frantically how she could get away. She opened her eyes but saw nothing, the heavy veil of unconsciousness struggling to reclaim her._

_She fought against the hazy fog that tried to push her back under into darkness, her thoughts flying haphazardly around in her head in an attempt to assemble together in some type of order._ _Darkness clung tightly to her, around her, cloaking her in a world where doom lurked with its ravenous malevolence. _

The deafening ring of silence that accompanied it vibrated in her ears, intensifying the feeling of isolation. Why can't I see anything? Am I blind? , she thought.

_She felt completely off balance, unable to think. She tried to voice out loud her distress but nothing came out. Her throat felt parched and raw, her lips swollen and unable to move._

_The last thing she remembered was standing on the train platform, the feeling of anxiousness crawling up from the pit of her stomach and then nothing else. _

"_Where do you think the others are", her fragmented thoughts were disrupted by the deep voice that originated from somewhere above her._

"_Who cares? We can have fun without them", another voice responded._

_The sentence was abruptly followed by a long slow caress up her thigh that left her shuddering in disgust. The hand stilled at her movement and then continued its upward trek before curling long, bony fingers into her buttocks._

"_I think our new friend is awake", the voice chuckled darkly._

"_Really? Let's introduce ourselves then", the other man suggested, his voice jubilant. She could feel the quick nod that the one holding her gave his companion before shuffling his weight so that he could throw her to the ground in front of him. _

_She landed hard enough to leave a rather large and unattractive bruise on her butt however that didn't stop her from scuttling backwards until she came against a wall. Even then she continued to push against it wishing that it would absorb her and take her away from her captors._

_Said captors seemed to find the attempt funny and they laughed uproariously. She couldn't see their faces properly, not in the dim light. She looked around her, searching for a way to escape but luck was not on her side._

_The villains had dragged her to a secluded alcove, surrounded on all three sides. The only clear way out was through the entrance that they stood boldly in. She was trapped, she realized in dawning horror._

"_Where do you think you're going girly...?" The larger of the two growled as he moved closer. Something shiny glinted out from his hand and as he moved ever closer, she managed to make out that it was a knife with a long, wicked blade._

_Her eyes widened in dread and she could not move her stare away from it, even when the second fiend began to speak, mocking her with lewd suggestions of what he would like to do to her._

_She fought, there was nothing left to do and so she fought them. It didn't do much for there were two of them and they were both larger than her. She felt bony fists with sharp angles fall upon her face, her chest. Heavy kicks coming down forcefully on her stomach but she did her best to stave off her attackers, flailing her arms wildly, all the while desperately praying that someone would come for her._

_Before long it all became too much for her and her mind began to fog out. She didn't know what happened next but the next thing all she knew was the intensive pain that tore through her side and then merciful darkness._

She jerked upright in the bed, her chest heaving with an exaggerated effort to drag air into her lungs. Her hands trembled as she brought them up to rub at her face. Her fingers coming away wet from the treks of tears that coursed down her cheeks. The shock of having remembered her attack left her stunned and she tried to find a grasp on reality.

She tossed aside the sheets and stumbled her way out of her room and down the stairs. When she reached the kitchen, she didn't bother to turn on the lights but instead grabbed one of the glasses stacked on the counter. She turned on the faucet with fingers that were barely steady and filled the glass with water that she in turn gulped down desperately.

The clatter of the glass falling into the sink was only slightly muted by the agonized moan that tore from her throat. She slammed her fist down against the countertop before leaning against it and sliding down to the ground. She laid her head against her thighs and tried in vain to suppress the shiver from the cold of the floor touching her bare flesh. Her wounds ached terribly and she gave out short pants in an effort to try to relieve the pain.

Remnants of her nightmare flashed through her mind as she clenched her fist into the folds of her shirt. The pain of her injuries throbbed throughout her body and she prayed that it would stop. She remembered feeling suffocated during her attack and that same bleakness threatened to consume her. Five minutes of agony ensued before the pain ebbed a bit and she was finally able to breathe without any difficulty.

She wished that Inuyasha were there beside her. She imagined that he would gather her up into his strong arms and hold her tightly, as if unwilling to release her. That was exactly what he had done when she had been released from the hospital earlier.

The feel of his arms around her were a comfort all its own but at the same time left her feeling just a bit guilty. What had happened to her was her fault, she knew. Had she not known better than to leave the club and walk to the station alone? Had she not known that had she not left the safety of Inuyasha himself that the attack would not have happened?

She did not know what thoughts had been running through his mind through out the ride home, but the frown that had been marred on his handsome face had said all that could have been said. He had been frustrated that she had let herself be caught unawares. He had been angry that she had allowed herself to be so defenseless. He had been disgusted that she had allowed herself to be violated the way that she had been.

The remembered look of revulsion on his face made her cringe to herself and she squeezed her eyes closed tightly to try and stifle another bout of tears. She did not blame him. How could he have not been when she herself was horrified? He had been anxious to get away and she did not blame him for that either. It explained why he had moved away from her after she had kissed him at the hospital. Why he had had that blank expression on his face afterwards.

Even as they had climbed the stairs of the shrine, she had felt his anxiety to be away from her. He had kept glancing down at her and then at the well, his eyes always straying just a bit longer on the well. She understood what that meant. He had wanted to be away from her as soon as possible.

However instead of dashing off as soon as she had been settled he had lingered. She smiled to herself as she remembered that he had hovered over her rather. His actions had confused her because she had not expected him to stay with her, to hold her or even to comfort her long after the sun had set on the horizon.

Her thoughts were interrupted suddenly when the kitchen was illuminated by the overhead light.

"Sis? What are you doing up?" her little brother asked as he sleepily rubbed at the corner of his eye before letting out a big yawn. His pajama shirt was rucked up just a little on his small narrow chest from where he had buttoned it up wrong and he had only one foot of his slippers on.

She smiled tremulously up at him; he was just too cute sometimes even though he was a bit of a brat. Slowly pushing up from her spot on the floor, she made as to move past him. She ruffled his sable hair that always seemed to have a mind of its own even when he spent twenty minutes brushing it down. Yeah her kid brother was adorable sometimes and she loved him no matter how annoying he could be sometimes.

"Don't worry about it squirt, just go on back to bed." She watched as he eyed her somewhat skeptically before shrugging his thin shoulders and rudely brushing her hand away.

"Whatever you say."

She watched as he moved towards the fridge, grabbed up a bottle of water and headed towards the stairs. He paused with one foot on the first step, his hand on the banister and a look of indecision on his boyish face. He then rested his chin on his chest so that his long bangs hung over his eyes, hiding them before speaking so softly that she had to strain to hear him.

"Sis… I'm glad you're alright," he did not turn to look back at her but instead dashed up the stairs without waiting for her reply.

A long moment passed in complete silence before she whispered hoarsely into the darkness.

"I'm not sure if I am squirt."


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any other character form the anime or manga.

Chapter 6

***

The journey West had taken less than a day, he was pleased to note. However it also sent a little shudder of distaste down his spine to realize how closely Kaede's village and his forest lay next to Sesshomaru's domain.

Nevertheless, hopefully after meeting with his brother the distance would prove to be more of an advantage than a disadvantage. He pushed off from the tree branch that he stood perched on, landing softly on the warm grasslands ten feet below. If he had calculated correctly, the palace gates stood only two miles ahead, patrolled by six guards that stood at the ready.

Although his vantage point lay downhill from the palace entrance, he was sure that the guards had sensed his jhaki as well as the tetsusaiga's and knew that he was out here, though they knew not whom or what. He anticipated a fight but prayed that his brother's curiosity about his presence would prove to be much greater than his need to kill him because he did not want to have to fight his way through a whole palace filled with guards.

"No time like the present to find out," he murmured out loud and with that, he raced off to meet his hostile greeting party.

When he was within their sights, he was relieved to see that although the dog demons' stances indicated that they were battle ready, they held position. They stood lined off before the gates, spears and swords drawn and pointed into a defensive stance. Each one of demons were darned in the standard full-bodied battle armor of the Western dog clan with red colored sashes at their waists and high top boots, the taiyoukai crest emblazoned on as many places as possible.

He relaxed his posture to show that he was not an immediate threat but he also adopted his brother's calm and cool stance of command as well. The bastard had to be good for something he vowed. He wanted them to be aware that although he would not attack them but at the same time that he was also above them in rank. He would not submit to them or back down.

It amused him to watch them straighten and look at each other in bewilderment, unsure what exactly to make of him. He could barely suppress a cocky smirk. When he shifted to fold his arms before him however, they were quick to take up their battle stances again. _Good, they should be wary of me,_ he thought nastily.

Before he could however, he was distracted by the creaking sounds of the gates of the outer palace walls opening slowly behind them. The guards turned to look over their shoulders before quickly scurrying to either side of the fencing, standing at complete attention. An older dog youkai, followed by a dozen other soldiers carrying a myriad of flags of differing colors, marched authoritatively through them. His even gait marked him as one used to power and one who knew how to wield it.

The youkai had a large, strong build with a long overflowing white beard that was decorated with small golden beads. The length of it looped over one of his broad, armored shoulders. His own white hair sat in a topknot at the top of his head, an elaborate headdress pinning it in place. A man of obvious high rank, dressed in silken robes of royal blue, green and white. He was not stooped with age but rather stood up as straight as any of the other younger youkai. A general of some sort was his first thought, but quickly changed that thought when he saw the golden dragon crest that sat on his right sleeve.

Inuyasha continued his perusal of the youkai and his eyes widened at the sight of the elaborate hilt of the sword that rode on his hip. He had never seen a sword so beautiful, with its golden hilt carved into the form of a dragon, emeralds winking in the dimpled sunlight, giving the illusion of a dragon's wicked glare. He felt excitement wash over him to have a closer look at the sword but he managed to restrain himself, if only barely. This man was obviously a tai-youkai in his own right. His regal bearing rivaling, if not surpassing Sesshomaru's.

The guard procession spread out on both sides behind the general, their armor gleaming under the sun. His sharp gaze took in the subtle differences in body armor of the new guards in comparison to the ones that he had met out front. His face clouded in his confusion before clearing up. _Yeah, must be another lord._

The armor of both sets of guards were so similar that if one didn't possess a discerning eye, the differences would be all but unnoticeable but they now acted like blaring beacons to him. The style and shape of the armor, the tie of the sashes and the décor trim shouted unusual to him.

"State your business here pup or else get out of my way," the general said firmly as he crossed his heavily muscled forearms across his wide chest. The blue- green youkai markings on his face and arms stood out in stark contrast to his pale, weathered skin.

Inuyasha bristled visibly, he didn't like being referred to as a pup, until he paused in his realization that perhaps compared to this old fossil; he more than likely was. He, however, would not accept being disrespected like that no matter what. It was a valiant attempt in struggling to keep to Miroku's advice in trying to be polite and diplomatic in mind instead of just barging his way in to see his brother. Patience had never been his strong suit, and so to try to exercise it where he had none was trying. He straightened his shoulders and lifted his chin in defiance.

"I am Inuyasha, son of the Great Inu no Taisho of the Western Lands, son of his human mate, Izayoi, Princess of the Hirashiro Lands, daughter of the daimyo Kyoshiro, Lord of the…

"I know who you are whelp, I am not as old as to not be able to smell your father's blood on you," the old fossil harrumphed, unfolding his arms and he made a sweeping gesture towards him. "You must know that your kind is not welcomed here, I thought that this was understood."

Inuyasha having been rendered speechless at first by the old man's revelation, all but bristled visibly at his last remark. He raised his hand to grip the hilt of the tetsusaiga tightly, his golden eyes flashing in ire. His attempt to be nice was obviously a wasted effort from the start, he silently acknowledged. Miroku and his diplomacy could shove it and take a back seat.

He drew the sword and watched in sadistic glee as the rusty blade was engulfed in golden flames before flaring out to reveal its massive transformed state. He swung the sword once, then twice before hefting it, blunt sin down, onto his shoulder and then hooking his thumb into his hakama sash.

The warriors and the old fart had taken a swift step back when they felt the explosive release of the blade as it released its jhaki. They watched him with keen, calculating gazes, their eyes widening as his suppressed jhaki swirled then merged with tetsusaiga's, swept over them.

"Now then… let's try this again… the proper way," he grinned wickedly. The mesmerizing rush of adrenaline that always came right before battle surged up and out, hitting him with wave after wave of exhilaration. He closed his eyes and took a moment in order to enjoy the feel of it as it coursed steadily through his veins, warming his blood. He snapped them back open again at the first hint of movement from the other side and watched passively as the general directed one of Sesshomaru's guards back into the gates.

Intense green clashed with smoldering gold, both gazes locked together, unwilling to shift away from the other. Setsui felt an unwelcome surge of admiration sweep over him as he watched the young hanyou stare him down. It was obvious that the boy did not know with whom he dealt with. His restraint on his jhaki was impressive in one so young but all that meant very little when compared with both power and experience. He decided then that testing out the full extent of how well the boy could control his power was too much of a lure to resist.

Setsui could not remember the last time he had been challenged so boldly to a contest of will and strength over the long years of ruling his Eastern terrain. He admired the boy for his spunk in thinking that he had any chance of winning. It was evident, not by features alone, that he was his father's son. It was amusing how the whelp thought to exert any type of dominance over him in the same way that his sire had done many years prior.

He thought back to the days when he had first met the boy's father, when he himself was nothing more than a youngling testing out his new wings of maturity. He smirked, somewhat pleased to find himself in the same situation as he had then.

"Very well boy, have at me," the words were barely out of his mouth before Inuyasha leapt at him, swinging his sword wildly. Setsui side stepped him calmly, turned and then gently cuffed the whelp in the collar.

Inuyasha jumped back, stumbled before righting himself, his hand rubbing the offended area in disbelief. His golden eyes widened in uncertainty before narrowing down again on his opponent. He had underestimated the old man. He cursed himself for his stupidity. It was so obvious that was hiding his jhaki, but by how much, he wondered idly. He wouldn't make that same mistake again. Obviously he required a bit more finesse in this fight than he usually employed. He shifted his stance and crouched low into a defensive position, sword raised above his shoulder and then charged forward.

Setsui barely managed to dodge the attack a second time. In fact he just barely had enough time to move safely to the side with his dignity in tact. The hanyou had moved so fast that he had appeared as nothing more than a red blur. Setsui hid the surprise that came over him. The hanyou seemed to possess more sword skill than he had previously thought. He held his up hand to stall the guards behind him that had surged forward when he had stumbled to the side.

Critically studying the hanyou, he silently approved of his stance. His posture protected his weaknesses from all sides meaning he would have to exert himself in order to break through the hanyou's defense. Setsui stood in some confusion for a time because the fighting style was not one that he recognized. He wondered briefly where he had learned such an advanced technique when to his knowledge the boy had been left to fend for himself for years.

He eyed Inuyasha a bit longer before waving an elegant hand nonchalantly and turning his back on him. It would be interesting to see how the boy would turn out in the future. He would keep an eye out for him, it was the least that he could do for an old friend.

"Enough! I grow weary of you. I have more important matters to deal with so do as you wish."

Inuyasha warily relaxed as he watched the old youkai gather up his party and head east. _What just happened, _he wandered_. _His dark eyebrows came down heavily in a frown and he pouted just a little. He hated it when a promising battle didn't turn out the way that he wanted it to.

"Keh…,"shrugging his shoulders, he turned his attention to the last remaining guards who also watched the general disappearing over and around the bend in some confusion. Before Inuyasha could even think to question the guards, the gates behind them opened once more to emit Sesshomaru's little green toad.

Inuyasha grimaced slightly at the sight of the toad's slimy, green skin and the wet sounds that it made whenever it moved. Its' round eyes, that bulged grotesquely from its small head, shifted frantically from side to side before finally resting on him. It made a great show of squawking loudly in outrage when it noticed exactly who was standing before him and waved the four-headed staff wildly as if trying to ward him off.

"What are you doing here half breed? How dare you trespass on milord's domain? Be gone from here before I unleash the might of my staff upon you!"

Inuyasha sneered disdainfully as the little toad waddled up closer to him at a pace that he was somewhat surprised that it could achieve, shouting recriminations loudly the entire time. He raised his foot and pushed it against the toad's head as it tried to hit him with the staff. Growling lowly when it made contact with his shin, he snatched the staff away from its grasp and used it to whack the toad on the head with a resounding crack. He had to stifle a laugh when the thing dropped with a loud thump on the ground in a stupor, mumbling incoherently about doing anything for his Sesshomaru-sama.

Staring at it in disgust, he tossed the broken staff to the side and then re-sheathed his sword. _So much for the mighty staff._

He kept one eye on the guards at the gate, some of which had turned to the side to hide their amusement at the toad's expense, as he crouched low. The toad continued to mumble stupidly and he shivered as his ears caught the eerie slurring words of idolization. It was so weird, not to mention down right creepy how the thing always followed Sesshomaru around, bulging eyes filled with worship, literally kissing the ground that his brother walked on.

"Hey…come on toad, where's Sesshomaru?" Jaken turned to stare up at him dazedly before smiling goofily. His skinny, clawed hand reached up towards the face of his beloved master and sighed with bittersweet regret as he reared back and moved further away. That's what he loved about his lordship. He was so cool and distant, his bearing making him so much above everyone else, especially such a lowly servant such as he. He watched as his master came back into view. Aaah, his master was asking him something again, he must answer.

"Aaah...my Sesshomaru-sama! What a silly question you ask. Of course I know where you are. Here with your good and faithful servant." To Inuyasha's horror, the green toad then proceeded to giggle insanely to himself before continuing to tell him how beautiful he was and shouting proclamations of wanting to follow him forever.

Moving away hastily from the toad, he strode over towards the snickering guardsmen. He was more that eager to leave behind the toad, who continued to happily sigh out his undying devotion to his lord. How the toad could have mistaken him for his brother, he did not know nor did he want to know. He shook his head in disgust and made haste to get as far away as fast as he could as the delusional cries became louder and even creepier.

Coming to a stop before the first guardsmen, he said "Take me to him."

***

As he walked along the wide corridors of the palace, he felt a wave of nostalgia wash over him. He didn't remember much about the home that he lived in with his lady mother but just looking around at these great walls reminded him of the subtle elegance that had left a lasting impression on him.

On both of the opposite walls hung woven tapestries depicting past battles of glory and stern portraits of his ancestors. Those glazed amber gazes of said ancestors seemed to bore holes into his back as though accusing him of the effrontery of entering their splendid abode. They accused him of being half demon, of daring to bring his tainted blood into their midst, as if he could control the circumstances of his birth, the further along that condemning corridor, his shoulders hunched over more and more.

As he remembered all the jeering faces of the adults from his childhood, of all the wicked names that the children used to shout at him, he sneered to himself, then stood straight and tall. He had nothing to be ashamed of, no one would ever again be able to tell him that he lacked worth. There were people who believed in him now, people who understood him, accepted him for who and what he was. He had a woman that loved him despite what he was, loved him when no one else would.

"Kagome…" he silently breathed her name. The mere utterance of it was enough to boost his confidence. He knew that he would do anything for her even if that anything meant sacrificing his own pride on a burning pyre before his brother. His golden eyes burned with a determination that would have made even the toughest of all youkai hesitate in its tracks._ These freaks don't know who their messing with. These f**ing self righteous prigs and their prejudice. _They feared him because they didn't know what he was capable of.

He was drawn out from his malicious reverie when the two guards escorting him came to a stop in front of him. They were greeted by a third guard garbed in similar armor who stood erect in front of the large wooden double doors. The third guard gave him a once over before turning aside to push the double doors open.

The moment the doors swung open, the stench of his brother wafted over to his sensitive nose. He pushed his way forward not paying the slightest bit of attention to the astonished guards. He knew that they were shocked that he had not waited to be announced but cared very little for their protocol. He had no time to dally on these fools when he had Kagome waiting for him.

The doors closed softly behind him and he was left in an almost eerie silence. Although there were only two open windows on the opposite wall, the room was dark and he had to force his eyes to adjust to the dim room.

"I could have killed you a thousand times over hanyou, before you were even able to draw the tetsusaiga", the deep voice drawled from just across the room. He turned his head in his brother's direction only to find him sprawled elegantly in a large chair behind an even larger desk. Sesshomaru's cold stare bore into him as if that alone would kill him or at the very least make him go away. _No chance of that happening asshole._

They stared at each other for a few moments before a smirk spread across Inuyasha's face. "Yeah maybe, but not before I helped you lose that other arm."

Sesshomaru snarled silently at the reminder of his loss and Inuyasha watched in mild amusement as the ramrod straight back of his stoic brother stiffened even more, if that was possible. He saw the steady ticking just under the right eye begin and noted his mouth hardening into a thin, white line. Inuyasha stood still and quiet, captivated by the sudden, quick silver shift of Sesshomaru's features as they once again smoothed out to form the cold mask of indifference that he was use to seeing.

It pleased him on a ridiculous level, to see that his infallible brother wasn't as far above everyone as he would like to believe. Inuyasha took a swift step back when Sesshomaru very slowly and very deliberately rose up from behind his desk, his hard gaze fixed unflinchingly with his own, as though each movement required complete concentration. His body fairly thrummed with tightly leashed energy, his self control like an impenetrable armor, however at that moment it was obvious to anyone looking that Sesshomaru fought a valiant battle to suppress his natural instincts to pounce upon the object of his upset. After a moment or two, Sesshomaru finally seemed to win against his primal urges and stalked quietly across the room.

He stood before one of the large bay windows for a long moment, contemplating still if there he wished to stain his floors with the tainted blood of his nuisance of a brother or not. It was a hard decision to come to and Sesshomaru became even more irritated to realize that only Inuyasha had ever been able to rile his temper to such a level in such a short period of time. He would not allow this mere slip of a boy manipulate him, to force him to make the kind of rash decision, and therefore mistakes, that only a young and untried demon would make. It had been awhile since he had last seen Inuyasha and that absence that made him innate to the full level of frustration that he could be pushed to.

"What do you want?"

A long moment passed before either of them moved, the question that hung between them holding implications for them both and immediately Sesshomaru could sense the reluctance and angst rolling of the other like waves. The elder demon shifted so that he could glance over his shoulder at the hanyou. _Interesting_, he thought to himself as he noticed that Inuyasha stood rigidly, his eyes cast down to the ground, hiding his face, clenching his fists tightly as though he were fighting an internal battle with himself. He turned fully towards the hanyou and raised a fine, dark brow, his curiosity getting the better of him._ Very interesting._

"Let's see if I can't help you out here since you're having some trouble. You brave entering into my abode alone, without the accompaniment of your humans I might add, so they must either be nearby, injured or you must not have wanted them to know about something. Am I correct?" His statement was met with nothing more than the faint rustling of cloth.

"No? Hmm, well your bitch that you so insist on following around, is not here, so this has to be about her." When Inuyasha stopped fidgeting and raised angry eyes to meet that of the older demon, Sesshomaru growled with triumph, certain that he had hit the nail on the head. "Yes, that's it isn't it?"

"You think that you know everything, don't you?" Inuyasha asked sharply, slashing an arm through the air.

Looking away from the angry hanyou, Sesshomaru absentmindedly flicked away an imaginary speck of dust off of his sleeve before replying, his tone neutral, "Of course."

Inuyasha growled aloud again in frustration before replying. "I want your blessing."

"Oh…for what precisely? If you wish to jump off of an impossibly high cliff in which there is a zero percent chance for your survival, then by all means, you have my full blessing." Inuyasha stood rooted to the spot, unsure whether to take offense or simply shake off the comment as being part of Sesshomaru's usual rhetoric. If that statement had come from anyone other than his cold, anal retentive brother then he would have scoffed at the sarcasm. However Sesshomaru had spoken in his usual dull, flat tone so therefore there was the possibility that he was being completely serious. Thrown for a loop, he managed to stutter out a reply.

"I want your blessing for…to…so that…I can mate with Kagome," a stretch of silence followed that and another long moment passed before he heard a small choking sound that almost sounded like a snicker. No, he must have misheard. There was no way that Sesshomaru would have relaxed enough to actually indulge himself in a bit of humor. So disregarding the unnatural sound, he foraged ahead.

"I want to be acknowledged as your brother. I need your protection for my pack," he watched with a jaundiced eye as Sesshomaru sobered quickly after that. He inclined his head gracefully to the side and gave him a curious look before carefully blanking it.

"You realize that this Sesshomaru does not find you amusing in the least."

The blank stare directed towards him was more than just a bit unnerving and Inuyasha realized that a cold mask worn on one's face was a most effective ward against one's enemies than any other expression. It completely hid ones thoughts making the opponent susceptible to an attack.

"Good. I wasn't trying to be," he replied evenly.

"You must think quite highly of yourself if you think for one moment that I care what you do with your filthy little humans."

"I know that you don't. I don't think that you care about anything except yourself. As a matter of fact, I think…,"he was abruptly cut of by the dead monotone.

"I do believe that the world would be much benefitted it you stopped thinking, better yet it would be best if you simply dropped off the face of the planet altogether."

Inuyasha growled loudly at this because it irked him to no end that he had to lower himself to such a level and actually beg a favor of this bastard. He breathed in and out slowly to cal himself and silently reminded himself of the number one reason for coming here. And that reason was Kagome. He knew that the need to protect her was his key goal and so therefore that overrode everything else, especially his extreme dislike for Sesshormaru.

"I want you to bless the union, acknowledge me as your brother so that I can better protect my mate."

"…" Sesshomaru sent him a very skeptical look before he swept his tail behind him, did a complete about face and glided back over towards his desk. Sliding gracefully behind the comfort of its smooth, heavy oak, he shook back the sleeve of his right arm and pulled the inkpot and brush towards him.

He dismissed the half-breed from his mind as unimportant and began the long, not to mention tedious process of completing the task of writing out a draft that needed to be finalized before the council meeting the next day. His meeting with Setsui this morning weighed heavily on his mind. The increase insurgence of stray low- level youkai swarming the borders of the eastern and western territories hinted of a deep-seated unrest. The rabble were being chased into lands that they normally would not have and that alone suggested that something ominous was looming in the horizon, more than likely to do with Naraku and where he had gone into hiding. A meeting with all the leaders of the surrounding territories was absolutely necessary. Silence reigned over the room for only a few moments except for the scratching sound of the brush bristles meeting the parchment, before Inuyasha lost the battle with his temper.

_Screw this diplomatic shit of Miroku's. The bastard understands nothing except brute force. _It was with this thought in mind that Inuyasha grabbed the nearest projectile and launched it at Sesshomaru's stoic features. At the last possible second, Sesshomaru tilted his head to his left and the exquisite porcelain figurine that had sat perched on the small table in the middle of the room undisturbed for well over a century, sailed passed his head and smashed against the stone wall behind him.

There was not even the slightest pause in his writing, his concentration focused on the parchment scroll before him. It was not until Inuyasha picked up yet another antique figurine from the table, that he breathed out a heavy sigh, put his brush down and worried at the groove between his eyes with his index finger and thumb.

"You wish to be acknowledged in the House of the Western Lords and still yet you throw tantrums that rival those of a child." When he looked up at the hanyou, his heavy lidded eyes widened imperceptibly when he noticed the triumphant smirk on the boy's face. He sighed once more, "_I should have killed him a long time ago."_

"Are you ready to listen to me now?" Inuyasha asked, his smirk widening to an evil grin as he replaced the figurine and then folded his arms across his chest.

"It would seem as if this Sesshomaru has no choice. You may proceed." Sesshomaru sat back in his chair and waved his hand imperiously for the hanyou to start.

"I want to protect her from idiots like you who think that I'm beneath them," Inuyasha stated plainly. He looked up from under his bangs to see his brother's reaction and wasn't so surprised to see that blank stare directed at him, looking completely bored.

Sesshomaru snorted disdainfully. "You can do that simply by leaving her as she is now. She doesn't need you bungling up her life. She is a priestess and is better off without the likes of you around."

Inuyasha stiffened as Sesshomaru's words washed over him. They made him angry, his face contorting into absolute rage. He snarled loudly and balled his hands into fists. His eyes became blood shot, the tattoos of his youkai slowly bleeding out across his cheeks. "You don't understand!" Inuyasha shouted, stepping forward and banging his fist on the desk. It trembled with the force of the blow but held. "I can't protect her that way! She's vulnerable…she's all that I…" He stepped back and turned to the side, not wanting to show so much emotion before his enemy.

"I couldn't save her," he whispered brokenly, a feeling of complete anguish filling him at not being able to do anything for his friend. He felt ashamed as well, ashamed to show any type of weakness to his brother. He clenched his eyes closed tightly to stem the burning in his eyes before turning a determined gaze to Sesshomaru, who sat rooted in place, a look of complete fascination etched on his face. "You have to do this!"

Knocked out of his reverie of having watched the steady play of emotion on the half-breed's face, Sesshomaru snorted in amusement at the last statement.

"Precisely why would I do that? This Sesshomaru does not benefit from such an act in any way. What do you propose to give me in return?" Inuyasha stared at him incredulously. How it was possible that he could be related to such a cold and unfeeling bastard he didn't know, but if he wanted something in return for helping him, then he would give the ass anything that he wanted.

"I can help you defeat Naraku and avenge…"

Before he could finish his statement Sesshomaru shot up from his chair. He moved so swiftly across the room that Inuyasha barely had time to brace himself. He was grabbed roughly by his collar and brought within inches of Sesshomaru's face. The elder youkai's eyes bleed out to an eerie red, his pupils constricted to thin slits, his breath coming out in hot, heavy pants as though he had just finished running a marathon. The usually elegant, emotionless face marred by a snarl and bared fangs.

"I do not require your aid in sniffing out that scum. I can do it myself… my vengeance has nothing to do with you. Do you understand me?"

Inuyasha shook free from his brother's grasp, his own growl emerging from deep within his throat. He had taken a bit of a gamble in bringing up Naraku, boldly reminding Sesshomaru of the fiend's deceit and Rin's abduction. It was a gamble that he had had to make because it was all that he had thought would help his argument.

He wrestled his way free from his brother's grasp and stepped back, smoothing out the wrinkles made on his front. The action allowed him a brief moment to look away from the vindictive look that glinted in his brother's slightly crazed eyes. It was a look that sent shivers racing down his spine and that almost made him feel sorry for Naraku…almost. However, if anyone had a greater stake in seeing to the destruction of Naraku, it would be him. He had lost way too much at that bastard's hands, and he would he see to it that Naraku paid for what he did to both him and Kikyo.

"It has everything to do with me. Naraku is my business or have you forgotten what he has done to me. You can't do this alone or else you would've done it already." Inuyasha snarled. He watched as Sesshomaru stormed away from him to stand once again near the window.

"…"

"Naraku has taken everything from me. Kikyo, my honor, all that I have left is my pride. Do you know what it's like living that way, knowing that such a large part of you is missing? I want my honor back and if I have to join forces with you in order to do so then I will!"

They both stood silently, their breaths coming out in hot bursts as they each struggled to control their emotions. Sesshomaru was the first to break the silence.

"What makes you think that you have anything that could possibly help me? I have my very own _demon_ army to back me up and neighboring kingdoms with whole armies at my beck and call. What do you have? I'll tell you, a ragtag group of humans that have no business being together with the likes of you so please spare me your idea of _help!_"

"I may not have an army but I do possess the one thing that Naraku wants the most in the world. Even though, the bastard is in hiding now, I can guarantee that as long as I have the jewel shards, our paths with cross eventually. So…what good is your army huh, when you don't even know where your enemy is?"

"You presume much hanyou." Silence once again reigned supreme for ten minutes that seemed to stretch on forever. Sesshomaru's back was turned towards him as he stared out the window, afloat in his own mind. For a moment Inuyasha contemplated sneaking up on the self righteous bastard, wandering if he could do so and actually get away with it.

He was nearly startled out of his wits when he heard his brother whisper so quietly over his shoulder, that if it were not for his youkai hearing he wouldn't have heard him.

"How will it help?" he watched him take a deep breath before continuing in a louder voice. Inuyasha stood confused, unsure of what he was being asked, when Sesshomaru spoke again, a little louder this time.

"How will your entering my court help you in regaining your tattered honor, in making you any less of an abomination than you are now? You are a fool if you think that by becoming an acknowledged son of the western house; that you can become more than a mere hanyou. No matter what you do, no matter what you say that is what you will always be, how they will always see you."

Inuyasha was silent a long while, his head turned to the side, eyes down cast. How could he have ever thought that coming to Sesshomaru was a good idea? How could he make him see or understand what he wished to achieve? He had never been good with words, he bitterly recalled but he had to try for the woman he loved.

It wasn't until he thought over his brother's last words that shock washed over his body. His golden eyes widened, his ears twitched wildly on his head trying to catch any sound testing to make sure his hearing was not failing him. Sesshomaru had not included himself with the others. In the group that would never see him as anything other than dirt beneath their feet.

He stared at his brother's profile, the tensed muscles, and the clenching jaw. His tightly fisted claws dripped blood, its acidity burning away at the floor.

"How they will always see me? Not you." The statement alone brought out a reaction from his brother that Inuyasha never thought that he would see cross his face, ever.

Jaw dropping down to his armored chest, his eyes so wide that Inuyasha thought they would fall out. Sesshomaru looked the very picture of a horrified individual, a more hilarious sight if he had ever seen one. The sight alone would have been enough to make him fall to the ground laughing uproariously if he had not been stricken with how bazaar his reaction was.

Regaining composure, Sesshomaru glowered at the menace that sought to drive him, if not to an early grave then at least out of his mind. "Do not speak of things that you do not understand."

"Help me to understand then! You see me as more than what others see me, don't you?"

Sesshomaru was disgusted with himself for letting so much slip, disgusted with the whelp that did not know when to stop pushing, disgusted with his great father for having put him in this situation. Well if the boy wanted to know then he would damned well tell him. Let him know who had shaped him, who had helped him to become who he was today.

In a move most uncharacteristic of him, he ran his hand though his bangs agitatedly, mussing the neatly coiffed hair. It was an action that he only allowed himself to do when completely alone, away from all prying eyes and only when he allowed his guard to come down. Now, however, he was in such an agitated state that he didn't care too much about who saw him. His back turned to the hanyou he missed the look of astonishment that held the hanyou rooted in place.

"Before you were born, our father came to me. At that time, I had just come into my majority and had already assumed most of his duties in running the palace. He told me of the human woman that he had taken to mate and of the son that would soon enter the world. He made me make a promise to him that day, made me promise to protect you and your mother in the event something happened to him."

"How could he have known something would happen to him?" Inuyasha queried, a look of complete confusion twisting his face.

Sesshomaru growled at the interruption, "Use your brain for once you useless fool! He knew the prejudices that lay ahead for both you and your mother. Our father was a great tai- youkai, formidable, however he was also only one demon who sought to fight against a world that wanted nothing to do with his ideals.

The night that he died our Father was in a battle against Ryuukotsusei in which he received wounds that would have healed fully if he had not immediately rushed off to protect you and your mother from an invading _human_ army. You should understand now, that if humans had not killed him then he would've been killed by demons. He forfeited his life in order to give you a chance at one." At the last revelation, Sesshomaru's voice had taken on a bitter cast.

Inuyasha pondered on this information for a moment and accepted the sacrifice that was made on the behalf of him and his mother. He felt emotion clog his throat and he swallowed in an effort to push it back down.

The information that Sesshomaru had imparted left him so stunned that he was unsure of how or what he should be feeling. He was confused, angry and frustrated all at the same time and all that he could do was respond numbly.

"How did you respond to father's request?"

"Naturally I scoffed. It was an insult to me! Why would I sacrifice so much for a human and her half-breed whelp, both of whom meant nothing to me? As far as I, as well as many others, was concerned, our father was a traitor to his people. He thought of humans as equals, that they had rights!" Sesshomaru chuckled mockingly to himself, remembering the scorn in which he had voiced his opinion of his _noble_ father.

"Despite my feelings on the matter, he was my father, he was my alpha and I was anything if not a good son. He died honorably at least. Although, already seriously wounded, he alone fought off the human army as the castle that he had meant to be a safe refuge for your mother, fell around him. He fought until his very last breath whilst I escaped the burning rabble with cargo that he had deemed do precious to him."

Sesshomaru turned unusually haunted eyes up at the hanyou. "You do not realize how hard it was to fight my instincts, to not go back and fight alongside my father."

Sighing deeply, he turned back to look out the window, "I took your mother back to her people immediately afterwards. I had no use for a human or her hanyou baby. However to ensure that I kept my word to my father I left Myouga behind, to watch over you and report your progress back to me."

"Aah…You were a cute and rambunctious child my lord Inuyasha. It was an honor to watch over you in your time of need," the small voice spoke aloud, drawing two sets of golden eyes toward him. One set narrowed in annoyance and the other wide with confusion.

"Myouga?!"

The old flea hopped from his place on Sesshomaru's desk and landed on Inuyasha's red clad shoulder. His eyes watered hungrily as his beady eyes zoomed intently on the warm blood flowing beneath his master's skin. His concentration was so focused in fact that he did not see the hand coming down on him with alarming speed until it was too late.

Inuyasha sighed in disgust, rolled his eyes in annoyance as he gingerly lifted the flea between his index finger and thumb. He prompt squeezed the remaining air out of the little demon and then flicked ruthlessly him across the room where he landed in a dazed slump at his brother's booted feet. He was mildly satisfied by the loud yelp that he made.

"Master, why did you do that?" he whined pitifully as he recovered himself quickly. His answer was nothing more than a snort of contempt.

"Now, wanna tell me why you're here?"

***

Sorry for the wait. Hope you enjoy the chapter and please review, thanks.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 7

***

"Master Inuyasha! A pleasure as always," the little flea stammered out nervously as he rose up from his dazed slump. He twitched jerkily as his thoughts raced through his head at the speed of light, searching for an adequate way to appease the visibly bristling hanyou. The angered expression on his young master's face unsettled him greatly.

"What are you doing here? Is this where you usually run off to whenever you think there's danger you sneaky little parasite?" Inuyasha gritted out between clenched teeth. "Or do you only pop in to spy on me and then turn tail and report all to Sesshomaru."

He couldn't believe it. The little flea demon that had always proclaimed his loyalty whenever he was around, actually stood cringing before him in his brother's palace with his wrinkled face creased in consternation.

He had never really liked the little parasite but he had always somewhere in the back of his mind trusted him on some level. Myouga had always been there, a constant part of his past but now to have discovered this betrayal of sorts, almost hurt.

"I thought you were serving me, how is it that you're here kissing my brother's ass!"

"I'm sorry milord but you must know that I serve the house of Western Lords. I gave my allegiance to your father and upon his death, by default to _both_ of his sons." Myouga cried as he made his way closer to the hem of Sesshomaru's hakama. He glanced up into said lord's face only to find the usual blank mask in place. Sesshomaru hadn't even spared him a glance since Inuyasha had started to move in on him. He had always been thus, ever since he was a youngling, always so serious and ruthless in his curiosty.

Master Seshomaru had been a quiet, introverted, more than willing to separate himself from all the other noble children. A solemn eyed child who stood on the sidelines, watching those around them, eager to strike at those that ventured to close. Myouga had alaways attributed the young lord's behavior to that of his lady mother. A demoness of high rank that had been brought to wed a then young Inu no Taisho, she had resented her family, resented her Lord husband and then had resented her own son. That resentment had turned to hate and then manifested into physical abuse that had quickly changed the young child. It had been painful to watch his young master reach out for his mother only to have been rejected time and time again by a selfish bitch too bitter about her life. he had told the Inu no Taisho but in a matriarchal society in which the male had very little say in the rearing of pups, not to mention the constant demands of governing the western territories and keeping treaties with surrounding kingdoms, there had been very little for him to do.

Eventually, when Master Sesshomaru had grown older, he had learned to protect him self, learned to deflect his mother's attacks but instead of retaliating against her in like manner, he had directed cold disdain towards her, delivered cutting remarks that oft times left the lady trembling in impotent rage. As the years continued to progress and the haughty, cold manner of the young lord had grown, Myouga had often wandered if the lady had made attempts on the master's life especially after glimpsing the maniacal look that had become a permanent resident of the woman's glare. The question had again rose at the baffling circumstances surrounding said lady's death.

It had been a cold night, a thunder storm streaking the dark sky when they had discovered the lady's body broke and twisted in the garden ground twenty feet below her chamber windows. The fall had not been what had killed the woman but rather the slit throat had been. There hadn't been any sign of a break in, an intruder or even any sign of a struggle. It would have appeared to have been a suicide if not for the minor detail, a major case of overkill that hadn't failed to arouse everyone's suspicions. No one had ever discovered what that had been about. Stranger yet, at the tender age of thirty, young master had expressed very little caring, standing stoically at through the funeral processions, not even hunching his thin young shoulder in an effort to show a brave front. No, he really hadn't cared which made him wander if the young lord had dispatched his own lady mother. Those had been treasonous thoughts, ones that he refused to look further into but as the years had continued and the ruthlessness in his young master had grown, he had acknowledged silently that he would certainly have been capable of killing the lady.

He glanced anxiously back and forth between the two dog demons, trying to decide which of the two were the safest to take shelter with, the one who was ruthless and coldly calculating or the other who was relentless and hot headed. He decided that neither of the two would be a good choice and looked desperately at the only available escape route.

He gasped in dismay when Lord Sesshomaru slowly moved into a position that blocked his vision of the opened window. The demon's hard golden eyes glinted with a mercurial look that suggested retribution of a most uncomfortable sort.

Myouga's brow broke out into a cold sweat, both set of hands twisted in increasing alarm as his other young master began to advance on him with a decidedly sinister glint in his eyes.

He knew that he would gain no quarter with Master Sesshomaru so he came to the conclusion that perhaps if he could get Master Inuyasha to calm down he might prove to be the more compassionate of the two.

It was a good idea, the only problem with that was that without the calming influence of his young master's beautiful miko friend, that attempt would be easier said than done. The young woman had a most uncanny ability to calm master Inuyasha, her presence like a soothing balm to his easily frayed nerves. However, right at this moment, anything would do right at this moment to help him deflect his anger.

"MMmm…my lord, please forgive me, but you must understand that I was looking out for your best interest." He allowed himself to breath out a small sigh of relief when Inuyasha halted his stealthy advance and instead stared at him in bewilderment.

"Oh really? You want to tell me how finding out that my so-called loyal retainer who has also been serving my enemy for most of my life, was in any way in my best interest," Inuyasha stated in a calm voice that belied the anger that surged up within him.

"Aah… well you see… that is to say… aah," Myouga didn't want to agree but he did see Inuyasha's point, however his duty was sacred to him. Where would he be now without his honor in upholding his word? He wouldn't have been in his position that he had retained for five thousand years if it had not been for his integrity. It had been that trait that had won Inu no Taisho's favor, made him an esteemed retainer of the royal western family. His little chest puffed up just a bit at the thought but quickly deflated at the booming sound of his master's voice.

"Spit it out why don't you? I don't have all day!" Inuyasha thundered out as he watched Myouga steal a glance up at his brother who stood stoically, head turned towards the open window pretending disinterest in the proceedings of the room.

If not for the slight tick that affected his right eye Myouga would have believed that indeed Sesshomaru would rather be somewhere else. Inuyasha had followed Myouga's gaze and he too saw Sesshomaru's lack of interest for what it really was, his irritation at being disrupted in an unruly manner. Grunting softly he turned his penetrating stare back to the flea that continued to quiver in fear.

"Well?"

"Lord Sesshomaru sent me to watch you my lord. After that terrible night on which your lord father died, he sought to provide safety for you and your lady mother. I was sent to ensure that if anything should happen, I was to report it to him." Myouga looked over at the tall youkai again who stood stiffly by the window, his long graceful fingers clutching the edge of the sill.

Inuyasha also looked at his brother, unsure of how to take in that information. For his part though, Sesshomaru neither acknowledged the other two nor did he seem to be in any haste to involve him self in the conversation, instead he acted as though he were completely alone. Something, Inuyasha also wished savagely that he could do. There were too many revelations to take in all at once, especially when he had come only for one specific reason.

"Is that true?" Inuyasha demanded of him. He watched and waited and waited and waited. The silence stretched out unbearably until Sesshomaru slowly shifted his weight, his cold gaze flickering with an indecipherable emotion.

They both stood staring at each other, the elder of the two, stiff and unmoving, his gaze unrelenting.

"As the days passed after father's death, I often found myself wondering why it was he felt it necessary to die for you. I was curious about you, however my disgust for all things human, not to mention half- human, served as sufficient deterrents to keep me away and besides I had more pressing matters to attend," he said with a half- sneer curling his lips. "Remembering my promise, I realized that I had a duty to at least see that you made it to your own majority against my better judgement. I should've killed you then and there. Perhaps then your life would not have been as it were and I would've had the tetsusaiga."

Inuyasha sneered at the last part and clutched at the aforementioned sword's hilt. He watched as Sesshomaru shifted his weight in his chair, intelligent golden eyes similar to his own watching him intently, daring him to make a move. He was momentarily stunned when Sesshomaru heaved a sigh before waving a hand dismissively.

"I will see what I can do in putting forth your request to the council. Leave me now," Sesshomaru said in a quiet voice laced with weariness. It left Inuyasha confused, uncertain as to the change that had come over his unbending brother. Questions swarmed through his head, questions with answers that would lead to more questions. What was his brother hiding? Did he even want to find out?

"You will protect Kagome?" he asked cautiously. He was afraid to hope, this quick capitulation was not the norm in his brother's character. Of course then again, it could all be part of a sick twisted game that he sought to play. Yeah that sounded more like it, dangle the beef before the hungry eyes of the sad little hanyou just out of reach and watch how long it took him to beg and cry for it.

"This Sesshomaru said that he would take care of it. Stop pushing and leave me!" He sent Inuyasha a withering glare before moving swiftly to throw himself back into his chair. Inuyasha stood unmoving for a moment before taking his leave quietly, not sparing his brooding brother another glance and completely uncaring if Myouga had still been in the room. As he walked down the halls of the grand palace, he allowed his tense shoulders to relax, felt the slow grin spread and widen on his face. He had done it!

As he continued down the hall whose walls had seemed to close in on him before, he noticed that the glares of his ancestors somehow seemed less harsh and not as foreboding. This place had never been nor would ever be his home but he felt an odd sense of peace now that his future with Kagome didn't look so bleak. Amazingly that feeling was all due to his brother who would have thought it. He hadn't felt this way in a long time, not since his mother had been alive. He had never thought that he would feel that way again, not here, not in Sesshomaru's home. His thoughts wondered back to Sesshomaru and his sudden change of mind. Why had he capitulated so easily? It made no sense. But then again, nothing Sesshomaru did made sense to him and he didn't care enough to exert the extra effort to find out.

Shaking his head in exasperation he turned his thoughts to ones that were less perplexing. Thoughts that brought a smile to his face and made him eager to be away from this place. It was time that he turned his mind to more important matters now that the most difficult hurdle had been mounted.

"I'm coming home Kagome."

***

It was quiet. All around her, everything was quiet. It was too quiet and she hated it. It had been two days since Inuyasha had left, three since she had come home from the hospital and she had never felt so alone. Even when surrounded by her loved ones she still felt that deep knowing sting of loneliness. At first, after Inuyasha had left, she had wanted to be alone, she had actively sought out ways in which she could avoid any human contact.

She had avoided her friends, refusing all phone calls and then frequent visits. Her three closet friends had proven their loyalty by showing up everyday religiously, inquiring about her health, bringing her gifts and get well cards from her classmates at school. Despite that though, she hadn't wanted to see them and she was woman enough to silently acknowledge to herself that she held them to blame for abandoning her on that night. If they had only stayed with her, instead off bustling off into different directions at that club, then maybe, just maybe she wouldn't have set off on her own that night. She knew in her mind that her thoughts were irrational but she didn't care because in her heart she felt betrayed and that was all that mattered.

Whenever she had heard the chiming of the doorbell, she had found herself standing silently, looking out her window down at them as her sympathetic mother had apologized for her and sent them packing on their way. When they left, if any one of them had turned to look back, they would have seen her staring back, an emotionless mask over her face. But they never had and eventually their visits had stopped. She only felt slightly bad for her treatment of Hojo. He was so kind, so considerate in bringing her innocuous gifts of healing whenever her gramps had fabricated an illness whenever she couldn't make it to school due to her quest in another time. This time had been no exception either.

Yesterday, his second venture, which had also met with no success, she had watched as he walked away, guiding his bike slowly towards the shrine steps. She didn't know what had possessed him to do so but he had looked back and up at her window where she had stood partially concealed by the window curtains. His boyishly handsome face had lit up in excitement at seeing her and he had raised his hand and waved it enthusiastically at her. She hadn't acknowledged him though and had simply moved away from the window, allowing the curtain to fall back him place, hiding her, shutting him out, shutting the world out. She didn't know how he had taken that but she thought that that action alone would stop him from visiting her again in the future.

She was the worst kind of person, but however much she didn't like her self for her treatment of the nice young man, she was loathed herself more for the way she had treated her family. They had done their utmost best to ensure that she had the time to cope with her ordeal. They hadn't even pushed themselves on her, extending to her comfort of any kind. She didn't want them to comfort her though and she ignored them. She didn't know why it had been so easy fro her to shut them out.

They loved her and she loved them but she didn't want to be around them. Did that make any sense? Maybe it was easy because she felt pain and extremely guilty whenever she imagined what she would see on their faces. She didn't think that she would be strong enough to look up and see the pity on their faces. It would prove to be too much. Every time she thought about it she felt the cloying clasp of desperation tightening around her, threatening to suffocate her and then she would feel the overwhelming, roiling nausea swamp her.

And now, she wandered the house in a constant state of bemusement, taking in very little of her surroundings, ignoring everyone around her, barely eating. She felt dead inside and she couldn't bring herself to muster up the least bit of feeling for anything. She had been content to block out the outside world, to not think about anything. It had been a struggle but sometimes she had been successful in overlooking her mother's saddened expression of guilt, gramps' watchful and knowing eyes or even the lack of gleeful, boyish shrieks of laughter in the house.

Wave after wave of pain crashed in around her, suffocated her, swirling around her. Day after day, the same endless cycle of drifting in a sea of torment that left her alone with relief nowhere in sight. She knew that she frightened her family with her somber moods but she could not muster the necessary energy to care.

It was better to cut herself off from her emotions, to not let the memory of her nightmares consume her every waking thought. If she shut off the faucet of her emotions then there was nothing that could hurt her. The sharp edge of pain from her wounds would recede and they became nothing more than a dull point poking harmlessly at the far plane of her mind. At those times, she almost felt free. She was free from the pain, free from thinking, free from guilt at hurting her family, free from hating herself.

She had become nothing more than a shell of her former shelf. Where before she was bright and cheerful but now she was lifeless and abrupt with those around her. Poor mama, she thought to herself. Everyone was trying their level best to tiptoe around her, to try to avoid saying anything that would make her break down and cry like a baby and there were times when she wanted to do just that. She was barely holding it together and she knew that if she didn't, if she removed the stopper that she had used to plug up the dam to her emotions, then the hollow echoes of her nightmares would become entirely too real and overwhelming.

The nightmare would become more than just a horrible dream, a figment of her overactive imagination. _No,_ she refused to do that. Things had gotten bad though, she couldn't continue on as she was now. What would Inuyasha think of her? She wanted it to go back to the way things used to be before, where she didn't have a care fore anything in the world except her mission. Only now, everything had changed in a way that it could not be reversed. She couldn't go back, not now. She knew that. Too much had happened for her to ever go back.

Now on the fourth day since Inuyasha left, she sat outside on the back porch in deep thought. It was cold, the winter months in preparing the weather for snow, but she didn't care. She needed it to feel alive again, she needed it to jumpstart her back to the present but it wasn't working. She knew what she was doing to her family and she wanted to change but she just couldn't muster the strength. It saddened her that in her selfishness, she had placed a burden on their shoulders, going to the extent of secluding her from the outside world. The shrine had closed its gates to all tourists and visitors, an act that left the courtyard empty, barren, desolate and devoid of all life as if in mourning.

They watched her avidly now, always searching her face for the slightest hint of discomfort; afraid that if they put one step wrong that she would fall to pieces. Souta was probably the only one who treated her somewhat normally, although he too sometimes shuffled around with a look of confusion on his cherubic face on those few occasions when they all sat down to dinner. She knew that he had been told that she had been hurt badly but he did not know the exact details because mama had thought that an eight year old was too young to know the gruesome details.

The police still constantly called the house, however, wanting her to give them a statement about what had happened but she didn't want to think back and remember anything about that night. She had enough recollections from her nightmares to not want to have to do so when she was awake. Thankfully she had never spoken to them but their persistence to get at her proved to be more disconcerting than any thing else. She was relieved that they didn't bother to come around to the shrine for she was afraid that they would badger her into talking about an attack that she tried not to remember except unwillingly in her most haunting dreams.

Those horrid nightmares.

They came constantly now, not just at night when she lay curled up in the wee hours of the morning, after spending an even more restless night tossing and turning, alternatively staring unseeing up at the ceiling. As soon as she closed her eyes, the rank smell of sweat and booze rose up around her, the feel of hands too rough, ripping and pulling at her clothes, of booted feet falling heavily about her body came to her.

The horror of it all so brutal that she couldn't bring herself to speak of it and so she pretended and allowed everyone to think that she did not remember. That was because she did not want to remember it. Because admitting it and acknowledging it made it more real, made the fear rise up in her uncontrollably. She didn't want to live her life forever caught up in reliving that nightmare over and over again in her head.

A rippling shudder of shame overcame her and she tugged insistently at her large sweater sleeves, covering her hands. She smiled bitterly as she thought back to when she had first seen the bruises that marred her white flesh. She had been appalled to see the large, discolored marks. They were spread over her entire body, so much so that she appeared to be nothing more than just one large sickening bruise. It was no wonder her body hurt so much. That alone however was not what had been the most shocking to see. No that honor was reserved for the large, deep gash in her side. The only time she had ever seen a wound as such was when she had tended to Inuyasha after his first transformation in his fight with Sesshomaru.

She lifted the hem of her sweater to gingerly trace along the sutured edges. It extended from just under her left breast curving around left hip. It looked almost as though, her attacker had been trying to slice her in half. She imagined the skin of her wound with its angry red coloring and the dark purple bruising around it. _Another scar_ she mused, her searching fingers dropping down to smooth over an older scar from her adventure with Mistress Centipede.

Smiling wistfully, she raised her head up to the sun that shone brightly overhead, the tree leaves of the goshinbokou rustling quietly on the gentle breeze. The sound, the tranquility soothed her nerves, quieted her mind, and made all the hurtful memories disappear for a time. She allowed her mind to drift up from her body, drift away to a happier time.

A long time later, she was drawn back to reality by the loud creaking of the shed door as it was pushed open. A jolt of excitement leapt through her and she had to do her best not to race eagerly across the walkway and straight into the arms of safety. The thought of that haven alone had her hurriedly rising to her feet, brushing gravel from the seat of her pants.

Her first sight of him almost proved to be her undoing, it was obvious that he had not seen her yet nor had he smelled her either because he didn't look in her direction. She stood just a bit in the shade of the goshinbokou tree, upwind from him, its bulky trunk obscuring her from view, so it didn't surprise her that he hadn't sensed her. It did surprise her though that he didn't look around him, which he usually did whenever he first came into an area, scenting the air for potential threats to him. Instead he shuffled across the courtyard at a slow pace, appearing preoccupied and that left her confused. What was he thinking so hard about? As he moved closer towards the kitchen door, she stepped out into his line of sight and watched as he paused.

He stood there for a long time staring at her, his handsome face unreadable with the wind blowing strands of his white hair across his face. The sight of him had always been enough to affect her senses in ways that always left her trembling inside, but to see him like this now, with the rays of the sun making his bronzed skin glow, the bright amber of his eyes reflecting emotions that were indecipherable to her. It was beautiful, _he_ was beautiful. Her hanyou.

He moved towards her, coming to stand before her before raising a hand to run a clawed finger down the side of her heart shaped face. _God, she's beautiful_, he thought to himself. Her large, blue eyes shimmered slightly with tears that she refused to allow to fall. Her face still bloated and bruised but she was still beautiful to him.

It wasn't just her outside beauty that made him want her, want to possess all of her so badly at times it always almost a physical ache. No it was her inherent kindness, the way that she always had something nice to say to someone she hardly knew or whenever she saw someone hurting. The way she always lit up with a smile when she saw him, welcoming him even after he had done something to cause her pain. She was so generous with her happiness, her love. Always willing to share with him even when he was being a selfish bastard.

He could go on and on about why he found her attractive, why it was that his youkai blood called to her. But she needed him now and this time he had to smile for her.

Her eyes glistened with unshed tears, her heart racing wildly in her chest. She was so happy to see him.

"You're back," she whispered softly before pressing closer into his warmth. She felt his strong arms tighten around her, felt the rolling grumble of his voice when he answered. She didn't hear his words but the sound of his rasping voice was all she needed.

She gasped in surprise, jerked out of her little world of Inuyasha when he bent low and swept her up into his arms. He jostled her gently to get a better grip, and then strode off in the direction of the house.

He paid very little attention to his surroundings, not even to the other two occupants who sat silently at the dining table with mouths agape. Said occupants sat and watched as the hanyou bounded up the stairs dumbfounded.

The old man was the first to snap out of it when the resounding slam of the bedroom door echoed throughout the house. He gestured wildly in the direction of the stairs and sputtered, "Don't you think that we should stop them? It is most highly improper for the two of them to be alone together. It's simply not done!"

His stern tones were enough to jerk his daughter out of her own befuddlement, only to watch the older man in fascination as he muttered about propriety as he glared suspiciously in the direction that the hanyou had carted her daughter off to.

His rheumy eyes swiveled back to her and she sat in quiet contemplation before taking a calm sip of her chai tea. _Mmm, that's good._

"No Dad, she's been through so much already. It saddens me to see her wandering around the house staring at nothing. If it comforts her to have Inuyasha close by, then I will allow it. I want my little girl back.

Gramps sighed in exasperation, and then he too sat back and took a sip of his tea. "I have a feeling that nothing good can come of this."

***

Kagome sighed blissfully as Inuyasha gently laid her against the pillows. She closed her eyes and smiled, everything always seemed to get better when he was around. The feeling was hard to understand when the man himself could make a saint cry out in frustration. But she supposed that that was a part of his charm. Inuyasha just wouldn't be Inuyasha if he didn't have the attitude.

She giggled to herself when the image of him being supplicant and bringing her home remedies to cure her aching feet as Hojo had once done, crossed her mind. No, she much preferred him the way that he was.

He was bad-tempered and at times insensitive but he was fierce in his loyalty and so brave that his actions sometimes bordered on the side of irrational. He was a good man that had learned to survive in a world that hated him, grown up alone the best way that he could in an environment that was cruel and unforgiving.

"Are you alright?" she gave a start at how near his low rumble sounded in her ear. She blinked rapidly and stared up unabashedly at his handsome face.

"I'm fine…been better though." She felt the burning sting of tears again and turned away from him before saying in a broken whisper, "I'm sorry." She didn't see the confusion that came across his face but she heard it in his voice.

"Sorry? What for? You didn't do anything," the bed dipped under his weight as he pressed closer to her back. She flinched away from him, ashamed of herself. Humiliated at what she had allowed to happen to her. How could he want to be around her? She was nothing but a weak, helpless little girl. Who would want a worthless and pathetic little nobody like her?

Her thoughts ran across Kikyo. She smiled bitterly to herself; of course Kikyo wouldn't have allowed herself to be used like that. She would have done something to protect herself. Perhaps she wouldn't have been so stupid as to go out in the middle of the night alone. No, not the smart and intelligent Kikyo.

She curled in on herself in the middle of the bed, so lost in her own tortuous thoughts that she barely registered when Inuyasha wrapped his arms around her from behind.

His hot breath trickled over her neck and left her feeling shaken. Her cold flesh heated from the hot rush of blood that began to pump rapidly in her veins. The low husky growl of his voice had sensuous thoughts running through her head and she shivered with need for him. She turned in the circle of his arms to face him and looked up at him shyly from beneath her lashes. She thought back to their heated embrace back at the hospital and felt an all-new rush of heat overcome her. She wanted another kiss.

"Kiss me…please."

Inuyasha stiffened in surprise. There was no way that he had heard her whispered words correctly. He clenched his eyes shut because he was sorely tempted to do just that. To pull her close against his chest and place small kisses all over her face before drawing closer to her lips.

She had no idea how hard it was to restrain himself from ravishing her. She meant so much to him and he would never be so bold as to take her in a time when she was still recovering over what had happened to her. He didn't want her to have any regrets when they finally mated and so he refused to do as she bid. He knew that once he started that there wouldn't be any stopping for him and so he pushed her away.

"I can't," he moved off the bed his back still to her. She was hurt he knew; he could smell it. His ears flattened on the top of his head and he turned to look at her. She wouldn't meet his eyes and she had wrapped her arms around her body as if to protect herself from his rejection. He felt like a complete jerk, hurting her had not been his intention.

Kagome sat motionlessly, the feeling of rejection so painful that she felt her chest tighten. Her throat was clogged with emotion and she knew that she could not stop the hot rush of tears that had been building up behind her eyes this time.

"Why?" she asked faintly.

"You don't know what you're doing right now. We just can't! I won't take advantage of you like that!"

"How do you know what I want? How can you say that I don't know what I'm doing? I know exactly what I'm doing, what I want."

"No you don't! This isn't the time for us to be doing anything like that!"

She felt a surge of recklessness go through her, as she struggled to find a foothold in the argument. She realized that for too long she had allowed thoughts of Kikyo to get the best of her. She didn't want to push him to make a decision to choose between the two of them. She knew that but her own desire was stronger than her will power. Kikyo had had her chance and now it was hers! She was alive and so was he; she would make him realize that he loved her. _Inuyasha look at me and love me, only me! _

"Inuyasha, you know what your problem is? You're afraid… you're afraid of wanting something that you _think _that you don't deserve! Of letting someone get close to you only to have them turn around and leave you. You're afraid of living, always pining after Kikyo and you know what? I'm sick of it!" Kagome exclaimed and she twisted about to present her back to his angry face with tears streaming down her face.

"You don't know what you're talking about! What the hell do you think you know about how I feel about you?"

Before she could react, before she could blink or even draw in a breath, his clawed hands had already spun her about and pulled her towards him in a great show of strength. He bent his head and his hard mouth came down upon her own. His hands gripped her tightly by her upper arms and then softened to a light caress. She loved it. _Why can't things always be like this,_ she thought dizzily.

His hard, unrelenting mouth softened and then he began to really kiss her. She felt the rough edge of his tongue as he traced along the seam of her lips. She gasped loudly when he left off from that only to nip lightly, soothing the sting once again with another sweep of his tongue. She grew restless as a little bubble of excitement burst in the bottom of her stomach and she pressed closer to his body to try and relieve it.

His hands trailed down her arms slowly before he wrapped them around her waist to pull her even closer. She jumped a little when she felt the hardness of him, the possessive pulsing against her stomach. He jutted his pelvis against her. The feel of it making the ache low in her belly just a bit more painful and she whimpered against his mouth as she clutched at his shoulders. She shivered with pleasure as he groaned out loud, whispering something against her mouth.

It was so hot and it grew even hotter as his hand slid down to cup the globes of her bottom. He squeezed them, slowly caressed between the crease, gently pulling apart the cheeks. A spike of desire so intense shot through her and she cried out with it. Her head was swirling in the heavy haze of passion that he wove around her and as if from her great distance, she heard the strangled noises, it was only after he stopped kissing her, stopped touching her, that her mind was able to resurface from the fog long enough for her to realize that the sounds had come from her.

He lifted his head and their gazes met. No anger remained in his eyes. Instead they were lit like twin braziers, igniting an ache, a yearning in her that she had never experienced before.

He pulled away from her and then staring intently at her dazed face, he whispered softly, "I'm afraid of nothing, least of all in wanting you." The blush that bloomed immediately across her face and throat seemed to amuse him slightly because a small smirk crossed his face for a minute before changing back to the cold indifference that he seemed intent on showing her since the attack.

He released her abruptly and she immediately felt the vulnerability surround her as she stumbled back on wobbly legs. She wrapped her own gently rounded arms about her body as she felt the renewed sting of tears threatening the corner of her eyes. As though he couldn't stand there a moment longer, Inuyasha stalked aggressively towards the bedroom door.

"I'm going out for minute, you should get some rest", he muttered gruffly without turning back to face her. He had smelt the scent of her tears and wanted nothing more than to gather her up against him but he had already done too much tonight.

Closing the door softly behind him, he leaned heavily against the wall, briefly closing his eyes. Kagome always brought out the possessiveness within him, had always brought out the more primitive side of his nature. Even now his demon clamored mightily inside him but he would not impose that on her. She was too fragile, too small. Perhaps he could have before the attack but not now, she needed more time to recover. Straightening to his full height, he made his way towards the stairs. He wouldn't allow her to push him past his limits before he felt that she was ready. He owed that much to her.

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	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 8

***

Inuyasha stomped his way down the stairs, his mind wondering back to the woman he had just left in the room. She had done it again, made him lose his temper. And so, naturally after losing his cool, his first thought had been to take advantage and ravish her like a wild animal. _I'm an idiot,_ he thought heatedly.He had blundered badly and he had no one to blame but himself. Her searing response to his kiss had pushed him to the edge of his self- control, overwhelming all rational thought.

She had a most beguiling way of getting under his skin and burrowing in deep when he didn't want her there. He sighed heavily, he was sure that once they were mated, there would be very little reason for him to be this frustrated. There would be very little reason, for that matter, for her to be upset every time he did something that she took exception to. He was intent on ensuring that they would be so sexually sated that they wouldn't have the energy to do anything but sag against each other in blissful satisfaction. A crooked grin spread across his face as the mental images flashed through his mind. _Oh yeah._

His grin slowly slipped away as he stepped down onto the landing and he heard voices coming from the living room. Higurashi-sama and two others were in there and he briefly wandered where the old man was but quickly tossed the thought aside. _Who cares? He's probably slapping those worthless sutras on some poor unsuspecting person._

Curiosity getting the best of him, he made a beeline and headed into that direction. He snatched up the crocheted cap from the hat rack in the hallway as he passed by, not wanting to expose his ears to strangers. Looking down at it he smiled wryly before he fitted it over his head.

Kagome had made him the little yellow hat for Christmas last year. At first when he had saw it, he hadn't wanted to wear it but she had pouted so pathetically and cried so much that he would've been so cute in it. Of course, he being the fool that he was whenever it came to her, in wanting to please her he had worn it. He had made sure to warn her that he would only do so whenever he came to her time.

The least that he could say about it though was that it was more comfortable than the hard billed caps that he had been forced to wear before. They had pinched and bunched his ears together painfully. This cap though, was big enough that his thick hair was able to fit under it and had little pockets at the top that provided plenty of space for his ears to move around.

What he had objected to the most at first about the hat were the two giant tassels that hung from the sides and framed his face. He thought that they made him look stupid and his ire had not been improved when the monk and kitsune had continually snickered behind their palms whenever he had darned it. However because Kagome had made it, because she would always smile that happy little smile whenever he wore it he continued to do so. In her time of course.

When he walked into the room, Higurashi-sama looked up at him with an expression of relief. Her slim arms folded before her. She was a petite woman, still beautiful, with a healthy head of short, glossy black hair. He usually thought to himself that Kagome when she got to be this age would look just as timeless as her mother. How could she not turn out to be beautiful in her old age? The thought of her young, lush body changing over time made him stop cold in his tracks with a look of horror on his face.

He shook his head slightly before shrugging his shoulders. He didn't want to think of himself as being so shallow as to not still love her when she got older. _ It doesn't matter; she'll still be Kagome._

"Oh Inuyasha, there you are dear. Come in, come in. You remember the detectives from the hospital right? Nonomiya Hideki- san and Yamamoto Atsushi-san?" she rose from the settee as she spoke, gesturing to the two men who had also risen. He entered the room, walking towards Higurashi-sama's out stretched hands. He nodded automatically to the men as he passed them, before sitting beside Higurashi-sama.

The older man watched him through heavy lidded eyes, taking in every movement that he made, while the younger one made a grab for the notepad that sat beside a large black folder on the coffee table before him.

"Yes Takahashi-san, we wanted to talk to you earlier about your statement but Higurashi-sama," Nonomiya tipped his head slightly in the woman's direction. "She said that you had left to take care of some business. Mind telling us where you went?"

Inuyasha stiffened a moment before forcing himself to relax. He didn't care much for the tone that the old man had used. Almost as though he suspected him of some wrong doing. His dark brows drew down into a frown and narrowed his eyes. "As a matter of fact, I do. It has nothing to do with you, so you can take that and shove it up…"

"Inuyasha! Please dear. No need to be rude. Tea anyone?" Higurashi-sama got up and moved over to the tea tray that sat on the counter top by the window that he hadn't noticed, all the while smiling blissfully.

"As a matter of fact, I think that I will take one ma'am. Thank you." Yamamoto said as he set his notepad aside and accepted the tea cup that she passed off to him. Inuyasha watched in agitated silence as Nonomiya also accepted a cup but shook his head when she went to make him one. He wanted so badly to kick these guys out of there but it was obvious that Higurashi- sama was intent on making them feel welcome as was evidenced by the beseeching look that she threw in his direction when she sat back down. Sighing in exasperation he settled himself to endure their presence.

"Forgive my partner Takahashi-san, but we just found it a bit strange that you would take off in the midst of an investigation into your friend's attack is all." Inuyasha stared at Yamamoto before nodding briskly and folding his arms across his chest, his face twisted into a pout, more because of Higurashi's rebuke than anything else.

"Anyway, the reason why we came here today was because we believe that we may have some insight as to who attacked your daughter. As we mentioned before, we believe these guys might be members of the Yamaguchi-gumi. There have been a few attacks on women in the city that are similar. We have some photos of the members that have been processed through our system before on previous crimes. We only need Kagome- san to give us a possible identification."

"Does she have to go to the station?" Higurashi- sama asked anxiously, her eyes screwed up with apprehension of having to force her daughter to leave the house when she obviously didn't want to.

"No she won't, she can take a look right now. We have them with us." Yamamoto smiled gently in understanding as he pointed at the black folder on the coffee table. He watched as her eyes lit up with relief. He also watched with some interest as she turned towards the young man next to her with a silent question in her eyes. His gaze became even more avid as he saw the young man nod his head imperceptibly, his expression grave.

He lifted a hand to massage the bottom of his chin in consideration, _Interesting. It's almost as though she were asking his permission. Wander if Nonomiya caught the exchange._ He turned is head towards his partner, only to find the man brushing at the sleeve of his coat. Yamamoto shook his head in exasperation. _ The man is brilliant when it comes to getting his man but otherwise he's completely clueless._

"Alright, I'll check with Kagome to see if she would like to join us. Excuse me gentlemen." They all watched as she quit the room before turning back to stare at each other. Nonomiya shrugged his hefty shoulders before turning keen and determined eyes towards the white haired young man.

"Now. About your whereabouts the last few days…"

***

She hastily wiped at her face when she heard the soft knock on her door. She ran over to the mirror to check that the fact that she had been crying wasn't obvious. When she caught sight of herself, she gave up all pretense of trying to make herself look presentable. It didn't matter, not when her face was already swollen and discolored from her bruises. _Who would know that she had been crying when I look like this?_

She slumped back onto her bed before calling out weakly. She sat up slightly when she heard her name and looked at her mother who approached her warily.

"Kagome? Are you alight?" she asked quietly. When Higurashi-sama saw her face, she shuffled over to gather her up into her arms. "Oh my poor baby." She pushed Kagome's head against her chest and slowly rocked her back and forth the way she had done when she was a little girl. _My poor little girl._

Kagome clutched at her but she refused to cry anymore. She was tired of doing so, of hiding away from everyone, of feeling sorry for herself. How could she make Inuyasha love her when she behaved so pathetically? She had to become stronger. After being in his arms, of having a taste of being desired by him, she couldn't allow herself to let that go. She wanted more of that, more of him and she would only get it if she stopped crying and started fighting.

She no longer believed that he stilled loved Kikyo the way she thought he had. There was no way that he could've kissed her the way he did if he had and she refused to believe that he would use her in an attempt to substitute Kikyo. She knew him, knew that he was incapable of setting out to deliberately mislead or hurt her. Hope spiraled up through her chest. He had loved Kikyo, but perhaps there was enough room in his heart for her. She wanted him and she's was tired of pretending to be alright with just being his friend. She was brought out of her inner thoughts by her mother's gentle, soothing voice.

"I know that you didn't want to before but I thought that since Inuyasha is here now that you might be okay with talking to the detectives." Kagome looked into her mother's eyes. Her loving, patient mother. She had not pushed her, in all the time that she had been at home, to do anything that she hadn't wanted to do. She was grateful to her for that and she realized that she had been selfish in pushing her family that loved her the most, away. They had needed to comfort her almost as much as she had needed to be comforted by them, but she had punished herself instead. Punished them because she had felt sorry for herself.

She pushed away from her mother and gave her a watery smile. Moping about wouldn't change anything. It wouldn't erase the memory of the attack, wouldn't catch the bad guys, it certainly wouldn't do anything that would make her feel better. If she wanted Inuyasha's love, she would have to earn it. It was up to her to push herself forward, to go and get help. And so Kagome straightened her shoulders and took the first step towards her happiness.

"Alright. Let me just change first."

***

When she walked into the room following behind her mother, she was surprised to see Inuyasha angrily pacing around the room, completely ignoring the two men who sat on the sofa.

Not knowing what to make of the situation, she moved to stand in front of the sofa beside her mother across from the men. She nodded her head absentmindedly as she was introduced but her eyes continued to stare at the hanyou who had stopped pacing but was now staring intensely back at her.

For a long moment, everything faded away and it was like only the two of them were in the room together. The air between them became charged with tension and probably would have increased if she hadn't felt the tug on her sleeve. She looked away from him and sat on the settee next to her mother, blushing the whole while as it occurred to her that she had spent some time doing nothing but staring.

She watched from under her lashes as Inuyasha blinked slowly but continued to watch her with a strange look in his eyes. The heat of his stare alone made her blush harder as she squirmed restlessly. She was jerked out of her musings as the detectives addressed her.

"It's a pleasure to finally meet you Miss Higurashi. We understand that you didn't want to give your statement before but we wonder if you would mind doing so now." The young Yamamoto asked gently as he pulled his pad and began to scribble in it. She nodded her head and cleared her throat.

"Yes, but I don't know how much I can tell you as I don't remember much. If it weren't for the nightmares, I probably wouldn't even be able to tell you anything." She replied, twisting her hands nervously as she glanced up at Inuyasha repetitively for reassurance. She relaxed just a little when he moved towards her to sit on the arm of the settee. She felt much better now that he was close by. She shuffled closer to him and reached out to grasp his clawed hand. She felt his start of surprise before he tenderly squeezed her hand in return.

"That's alright, whatever you can tell us would be of some help," Nonomiya responded as he gave a pointed look at their joined us before looking up at Inuyasha who in turn growled deep in his throat.

She began and told them everything that she remembered from her nightmares. When she was done, she was drained both emotionally and physically. Reliving those memories and that was what she now believed them to be; was a horrifying experience and she prayed that she would never have to retell that gruesome tale ever again. She leaned against Inuyasha's thigh, and sighed blissfully when he raked his claws lightly along her scalp. It was so rare when he would stop and be so gentle with her and she was nearly brought to tears every time he would stop and put distance between them.

If she had her way, there was no way that he would ever hide from her again. These little moments of tenderness would last much longer. She was completely unaware of the approving glance form her mother, or even the interested gazes of the two detectives. She perked up but didn't move from her spot against Inuyasha when she heard his low growl. _He never likes being stared at, _she giggled.

"Miss Higurashi, if you wouldn't mind taking a look through these photos, perhaps you might be able to identify someone as one of your attackers. She watched warily as Yamamoto pushed the black folder towards her. She glanced uncertainly around her, before reaching forward and pulling it towards her. She sat there a long time, flipping through the pages, her hands trembling. Her stomach was twisted in knots for fear of actually seeing the faces of her attackers. Or worse yet, of not seeing them.

She was nearing the end of the folder, when she suddenly went very still, her breath caught in her throat. The cry of alarm that had risen up in her throat suspended there and then her body became wracked with shudders. She pulled back and pointed a shaky finger at a photo of a young man. A thin man, with burning red hair and hard, terrifying eyes. Eyes that haunted her in the middle of the night. It was like he was looking right at her from the depths of the photo, taunting her. She could recall the harsh sound of his voice with a clarity that had her looking around frantically just to make sure that he wasn't there.

She got up from the settee quickly and made a quick dash out of the room with her mother close behind.

Inuyasha clenched his fist tightly against his thigh, wanting so badly to follow behind her, but he sat still and quietly, silently thanking Higurashi-sama when she made to follow after her. He shifted his weight and stared down at the photo of the man that Kagome had pointed at. _Slimy bastard, I'm going to kill you!_

He glanced up sharply when he heard a throat being cleared. A plan began to form in his mind, a plan that would kill two birds with one stone.

"I can help you find them", Inuyasha said finally. Both of the detectives' eyes immediately become riveted on him. Yamamoto-san was the first to break the long silence that had ensued after his statement.

"How can you do that? You said so yourself, that you arrived at the scene after they left her. Unless there is something that you want to add that you hadn't told us before, what more can you add to help this investigation?" Yamamoto flipped through the pages of his notepad, scanning the contents briefly before turning a slightly suspicious gaze on him.

"And besides that, all we have is Kagome- san's identification of one of the culprits and she's not even sure." He continued when there was no response. He looked up to eye the young man curiously.

"Don't worry about that, if Kagome saw this guy, then she saw him. The fact that he even seems remotely familiar warrants you guys checking it out. Look, maybe if I can infiltrate their circle somehow, I can figure out how to earn their trust enough that they might give me some clue as to where to find him. They might even confess to the attack on Kagome or maybe to something else that could be useful to you guys." Inuyasha stared at them, silently imploring them to give his idea some thought.

"You're talking about going undercover? Forget it kid! We've tried that route before and with no results. They always manage to somehow sniff out our guys." Nonomiya responded, shaking his head before leaning back in the sofa, exasperated with the turn of the conversation.

"I don't know Nonomiya, maybe there's something to the Takahashi's idea. Remember all the other operations were cops. These guys are probably so attuned to crime life that they can spot a cop right off the bat. I mean, look at it this way, Takahashi's young enough and pardon me," a quick glance towards Inuyasha, "rough enough to be taken in for a common street thug.

Nonomiya turned and looked at Inuyasha with new eyes, taking in the ruggedly handsome features that still held small traces of boyishness. The kid's mannerisms, the way he talked was coarse and did indeed possess a hint of something that wasn't exactly tamed. However looking back, he realized that his manner with the girl and her mother could be termed as gentle, there was something that suggested that perhaps when certain circumstances warranted, he could be just as ruthless as any crime lord out there.

Maybe with this kid's helps, he just might be able to get the break in the case that he needed. He could possibly even be one step closer to finding a way into the syndicate ring and Kazuo Taoka.

"Alright Inuyasha, I'll check into and see if we can come up with something." He turned his attention to partner, then got up, buttoning up his coat. "You'll thank Higurashi-san for her possibility and apologize for upsetting young Higurashi-san." They all moved into the hallway, grabbing up his hat as he went along. He tipped his hat to the young man and made his way through the front entrance.

***

"Sir, your… guests are here," droned the low tenor of the doorman. He bowed his head to his employer who sat across the dark room in the shadows. He could barely make out the dark silhouette that sat reclined in the chair behind the desk. If not for the bright flow of the cigar that bobbed leisurely from his mouth, he would not have been aware of his presence at all.

He watched as the fiery glow of the cigar end waved in a gesture of dismissal before he heard the softly spoken words.

"Very good Mr. Aoi, send them in if you will. Oh and see to it that I am not disturbed,"

"Yes sir," bowing at the waist once again, he back his way from the room and set about the busy of sending the poor fools who had angered his employer.

Back in the room, letting out a large gust of air as he breather heavy wisps o scented smoke, Tenmo Shouba leaned back further into his plush chair. His gimlet eyes narrowed into thin slits directed at the door. His thick bejeweled fingers drummed an impatient staccato on the desk before him, his body taut with barely suppressed anger, his mood was as dark as the room that he had enshrouded himself in, dimly lit by the lamp that sat on the corner table across the room.

"Idiots?" he muttered to himself. How could things have come to this? After spending years building his empire, of sucking up to his betters and fighting his way to the top in order to survive, everything was being put on the line

He remembered the years of hard work, of making it to the top of the food chain sometimes with nothing more than his wits. For a skinny, little street thug with nothing from the wrong side of town, becoming the head honcho of his own enterprising business was the very antithesis of his existence. He was glad to be one of the eighteen lieutenants of the Yamaguchi- gumi, one of the top yakuza gangs in Japanese underworld.

He was a respected man of business whose very name was enough to strike fear and instill awe in the underbelly of the crime world. He had come too far, worked too hard to get what he had in order to have everything blown up in his face, all because some knuckleheads were too incompetent to take care of their loose ends.

The reminder of what had him in such a funk griped in a vice all over again.

He was drawn from his musings by the loud creaking of the door. Tenmo watched impassively as a tall, overly muscled buffoon stumbled his way across the threshold, followed by an equally tall, slender fellow. This one moved at a sedate pace, making contact with him as he slowly clicked the door closed.

Tenmo was somewhat shocked to find that this man with the cold, calculating gleam could have made such a disastrous error. _No matter_, he thought. These two were responsible for his current troubles and he did not suffer fools lightly. No, the other lieutenants of the Yamaguchi- gumi would see this mistake as a reflection of him and they would be quick to send him out of the yakuza. He had no plans of being sent out.

The corner of his mouth tipped up into sardonic grin. He knew very well what the yakuza's idea of sending one of their one out of the syndicate and it most definitely did not involve a bon voyage ceremony, unless one counted the funeral.

"You wanted to see us sir?" tall and deceptively slim, Tenmo took immediate dislike of the young, smarmy Mitsubuya Enishi. The man was too slick, too quiet and that all knowing glint in his eyes that suggested that he knew all his secrets were enough for Tenmo to almost send _him_ out of the syndicate. However, he thought in irritation, it was those very same traits that had brought Mitsubuya knocking at his door.

Looking at him now, there was nothing to really recommend him, however, what the man lacked physically he more than made up for in ruthlessness. It was because of that trait that he had not expected this type of error to have been made by him. His ruthlessness made him more devious than all the other men in his company and it set him a part from them.

It was his eyes Tenmo decided. That dull, flat look that swirled sometimes with something indescribable; something dark and so palpable that it was all that anyone could do but to look away.

Tenmo looked pointedly at Mitsubuya, not even sparing a glance at the other insignificant in the room. Shinbata Mokuba was nothing more than a crony that did the dirty work because he wasn't all that bright upstairs. No all blame sat squarely on Mitsubuya's shoulders.

"Do you want to tell me…," he began menacingly, leaning forward onto his elbows, he slapped down the crumpled papers of the Tokyo daily. "What this is all about?"

On the front page, emblazoned across the top in bold capitals read:

"**Teenager attacked still Alive: Police suspect Syndicate crime ring."**

Tenmo watched impassively, waiting for Mitsubuya's reaction as he read it through. He gave the man points for not showing any weaknesses before him. There were many men made of lesser stuff who would have begun blubbering out apologies and making promises to rectify the problem.

That was the problem with Mitsubuya; the man didn't exhibit the normal characteristics of the underdog. No this one could not be content taking orders from anyone that he deemed unnecessary. He was sure that if Mitsubuya not done so, that he would later in the future plot his downfall.

"Gentlemen, you will understand that incompetency has no place here in my world, making that kind of mistake can often mean your life. So maybe now one of you can tell me why it is that I have cops sniffing around my warehouses and questioning my people?" Tenmo's eyes never once shifted from Mitsubuya's, not even when the great hulking mass of stupidity shuffled anxiously and tried stammer out a reply.

Waving a hand imperiously for silence, Tenmo shifted comfortably in his chair before taking a puff of his cigar. He breathed out the thick, curling wisp of smoke. He watched them narrowly through the haze, his annoyance morphing into amusement and a bit of admiration.

"The girl that you left behind… Can she identify you?"

Shrugging negligently, Mitsubuya gave a non distinct sound. Tenmo gave a snort of disgust before slamming his hand again the article.

"In that case, I suggest that you find her and take care of her. I want nothing tracing back to me."

***

Mitsubuya Enishi stalked menacingly down the hall, the muscles in his shoulders straining arduously under the tight leash of control that he enforced on his body and emotions from a young age. A self control so consuming that it had spilled over into all aspects of his life that made him meticulous in all his doings.

It irked him to no end to leave behind any type of mess and it irked him all the more to have someone else point out his mistakes. He liked being in control of things, liked even more to watch the end results of the wheels that he had set in motion. However when things failed to go according to plan, his restraint became something of a farce.

He was his own master and to think that Tenmo Shouba imagined that he could condescend to him that way was unimaginable. If it wasn't for that little bitch things would not have gone to sour for him.

He tightened his fists in white balls of fury; however his face remained just as impassive as it had in Tenmo's office. He reached up and adjusted the rim of his lens on his nose and then swept the heavy strands of his overlong hair behind his ear.

"What do we do now boss?" Shinbata asked, his tone of voice sounding eerily like that of an over eager child. He had always thought that Shinbata was a little on the dotty side, so eager to please, so easy to manipulate. It was just how he liked his henchman.

Shinbata Mokuba was an idiot, plain and simple, therefore he was quick to do and extremely slow to question. If not for his overwhelming brawn, the man would've been pathetically useless.

Mitsubuya smirked slyly as he turned his head towards his partner. "What do you think? We're going to take care of a few loose ends."

***

Seven days had passes since the police detectives had left the Higurashi shrine, promising to contact him as soon as possible with their chief's decision. Seven days of boredom, of nothing to do. Seven days too long and the wait was making him antsy. Kagome had closed herself off from everyone after the first day, locking herself in her room and refusing to talk to him.

He had done many things to try to get her to open to him, from softly pleading with her through the door, to pounding heavily on it repeatedly and threatening to break it down. She had not responded to any of it.

If he had not been able to hear her shuffling around on the other side of the door, or even been able to smell her, he would have thought that she had somehow managed to climb out the window and somehow shimmy her way down the side of the house.

After the second day had passed, Higurashi- sama, who had encouraged him to call her Itsuko-san had managed to persuade him to leave her alone and to give her some time. He had done so and now six days later he sat in the highest branch of the goshinboku, staring forlornly like a love sick fool at her bedroom window. He sighed heavily as he shoved a hand roughly through his thick hair. It was all he could do to stop himself from barging in on her and making her talk to him. If she didn't want to talk he could've even settled for just holding her.

He felt utterly useless. he should have been out there, looking for the culprits who had hurt her. He had a face and he had the scent. He should have been set. However, unfortunately, Kagome's time was not like his. For one thing, there were like a million times more humans roaming around on the streets. All of them looking so similar that in was hard to differentiate but then in other ways they were all so different. It made looking for anyone like searching for a needle in a hay stack.

What was worse was the smell. Tracking a person by smell alone was virtually impossible. These people had a tendency of masking their true scents with deceptively heavily, cloying ones. These ones almost always sent him into a sneezing fits that left his nose stuffy and ineffective. He was glad that Kagome stuck to using only scented soap bars, odorless deodorants and nothing else. If that wasn't annoying on its won, then there was the heavy smell of strange gases and metals that seemed to be a permanent fixture in the atmosphere.

In short his sense of smell was more like it was in his human form, which annoyed him to no end. How Kagome could stand it he did not know, especially after inhaling the much cleaner, fresher air in Sengoku.

On the third day, after he had realized that setting out on his own would be ineffectual, he had made a trip back to is time so as to update the rest of his pack on Kagome's condition and had returned just as promptly. He remembered the promised that Sango had managed to wrest out of him before he had left. Just as he had exited the hut, she had pulled roughly on his sleeve, dragging him a certain distance and then proceeding to let him no that in no uncertain terms that she would hold him accountable, should he fail to exact revenge for Kagome. Then she had continued in painstaking detail to describe each and every single thing that she would do to him.

He shuddered in remembrance of the chill that had run up his spine. Sango could be damned scary when she wanted to be, he thought to himself. Shifting his weight restless against the tree bark, he almost missed the heavy tread of two sets of booted feet heading in his direction. He straightened up from his perch, so that he could peer down in the faces of the detectives, his dark brow raised in query.

"Good day to you Mr. Takahashi," Nonomiya shouted up to him as he raised his heavy hand against his brow to shade his eyes from the glare of the sun that sat just overhead. "When Higurashi-san said that we would find you at the very top of the tallest tree, I had thought that she was jesting. I see that she wasn't. If you don't mind joining us mere mortals on earth we would be much obliged."

Cocking his head to the side, Inuyasha stared down at them uncomprehendingly. Shrugging his shoulders, he made a great show of hopping nimbly from branch to branch before leaping down to the ground ten feet from the two detectives.

Straightening up to his full height, he stiffened slightly when he thought that he had Nonomiya muttering to his partner, "I thought that dogs couldn't climb trees, let alone jump from one." He watched as Yamamoto stifled a grin before pasting on a serious face and jarring his partner in the side.

He growled angrily before stomping his way closer to them. "What do you want?" His ire increased as he watched Nonomiya look him up and down before grunting out his reply.

"I see that you finally decided to dress like a normal person of the twenty first century. For a moment, I had thought that you might be a relic from the Japanese history."

Inuyasha grunted in annoyance before he too cast a baleful look down his own figure. Itsuko- san had somehow managed to persuade him to discard his fire rat robe and into what she had termed "hip to the new generation", whatever that meant. He could have cared less what he wore but since she had insisted that he dressed "normally", he had not protested…much.

She had squealed with glee at his acquiescence, sized him up with her eyes, muttering under he breath the whole time, before hying herself out the door. She had returned several hours later with bags of cloth and then had proceeded to subject him to what he had called "painless torture".

He had not liked the constant changing in and out of clothes but after spending two hours modeling for her and an over excited Souta, he had had to admit that the clothes were somewhat comfortable. Not to mention that not as many people stared at him as much.

Shifting his attention back to the present, he watched the young detective shoot a quelling glance at his partner before stepping forward and gesticulated towards the table and benches that stood close to the goshinboku. Nodding his head briskly in understanding, he made his way over towards it, sitting down silently before fixing a golden glare across it.

"Well Takahashi, we took you offer of assistance to the police chief and after much consideration, he agreed to consider it o only under the circumstances that you come into the station to be interviewed before hand. Think of it as a job application if you will. Then and only then, if you pass muster will he grant his permission. So what do say? Sound fair enough?" Yamamoto said, looking at him earnestly.

Watching them warily, Inuyasha nodded his head slowly. He would make sure that he passed inspection so that he could finally get out there and avenge Kagome. He wouldn't fail her again... even if it killed him.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 9

***

The tense silence hung over like a dreary pall over those gathered around at the kitchen table of the Higurashi shrine. Three sets of eyes darted back and forth watching each other warily, one pair suspiciously, the another nonchalantly and the last cautiously.

Inuyasha withstood the silence impatiently, alternatively shifting his weight restlessly and boring holes into the over large man across from him, all the while clicking his nails repeatedly on the tabletop. He wanted badly to get on with business but at the same time he wanted desperately to be with Kagome, however he knew that he wouldn't have been able to be truly content until he did something to ensure her safety.

Yamamoto was the first to break the silence and speak up, tired of Nonomiya eyeballing the young man from across the table with a mocking gleam in his dark eyes and the boy's constant fidgeting. The slightly less than rhythmic tapping of Takahashi's unusually long nails didn't serve to alleviate him either. Clearing his throat loudly, he drew the attention of an intense amber gaze that zoomed in on him with alarming pinpoint precision. The sudden stillness that came along with that focused predacious gaze gave him a 'deer caught in the headlights' sensation that he couldn't shake. He had never encountered someone before with such unnerving eyes, eyes that reminded one of those of a wild animal hunting its prey.

"Well Takahashi, the chief is amenable to bringing you in as sort of a case consultant however, as we said before, there is a condition. We have some of our own people under cover investigating this gang in the matter of another unrelated on going case, however due to some bits of information leaked in through surveillance, we decided to look deeper into the gang's operations. We discovered that the gang has been involved in a number of other unsolved crimes around the city and so have reason to believe that this is a gang that may have had something to do with young Miss Higurashi case.

We've spent some time in doing our research. There have been other cases such as hers happening all over the city and in just about every cases- the women weren't as lucky as Miss Higurashi. Also in investigating the cases further we always end up right back at this gang. I got to tell you that at first our boss wasn't all that keen on bringing in an outsider, let alone a civilian and he still isn't b…"

"So what did you come here for then? Why are you wasting my time like this when I could've been out there myself – doing something, anything?" Inuyasha angrily interrupted, jumping back from his seat so quickly that the back of it hit the wall with a resounding crash. At his outburst Yamamoto had jumped in surprise, his eyes widening and his jaw dropping in shocked disbelief. He didn't care though. He was beyond caring about anything except for the fat that he had spent an entire week waiting, doing nothing. In all that time he could have been out there, looking for clues, scouting out the area where he had found Kagome. There may have been something left behind that he could have used, that would have helped him in finding them.

He was angry. He felt useless and there was nothing more that he hated than feeling as though he didn't have any purpose. He sent a malevolent glare at the two detectives across from him who had dared to waste his precious time, one of them staring at him with a stupid look on his face, the other appearing to be in a half doze, looking as though he were about to fall out of his chair. He slammed his fist against the table in frustration and garnered him some satisfaction in knocking the overweight son of a bitch out of his languor.

The sudden noise of that action had Nonomiya popping open his squinty eyes from his deceptive doze, to peer pensively up at the fuming boy, rubbing his pudgy jaw a bit in contemplation. In all his thirteen years working in the force, he had come across all manners of personalities, some pleasant and others he'd rather not think of. He recognized the kid's bluster for what it was- it was nothing more than a brave front that the he put on to protect himself and there had to be an underlying reason for that. It might fool others but not him, not to say that the bravado wasn't real in some sense.

The kid had heart he would wager. Where the attitude came from was anyone's guess but he imagined that Takahashi had a past that would send most young men his age straight in the county asylum. Nonomiya figured that the boy knew what it was like to live on the hard, cold streets, knew what it was like to feel the sharp cutting edge of rejection. Perhaps all that bark came from the need to arm him self from the pain. It was no hard stretch of the imagination for him to figure out that the girl was more than likely his first and maybe only friend.

It was no wonder Takahashi was so earnest in wanting to help in the only way that he probably knew how which was violence. It was sad to say but violence was all too common a part of life for those who lived on the street, especially when one was so young. Nonomiya stared at the boy now who was still bristling with anger. If he looked closely he thought that he could see the fine hairs on his arms standing on end. The interim quiet that rose over them, punctuated every so often by the low growing noise that seemed to be coming from Takahashi's throat, continued to grow and stretch uncomfortably. Nonomiya shifted his weight to place his right elbow on the table and leaned against it, his chin resting in the palm of his hand.

"Whoa, whoa there kid. Let Yamamoto finish! Man, you sure are quick to jump the gun there." Nonomiya groused out, scratching at the back of his ear, as he set one jaundiced eye on the young man. He watched in amusement as Takahashi went still again then the air was expelled heavily from his chest before he righted his chair and then threw himself back into it. Smirking just a bit, he turned and nodded his head for Yamamoto to finish his explanation. If they put on the kid gloves and handled the boy with care, he imagined that the measures that they had gone through to get him on the case would eventually pay out.

The focus was shifted from Nonomiya and right back on a decidedly unsure Yamamoto. Takahashi moods fluctuated so often that it was hard to keep up with him. Yamamoto figured that if things continued as they had been for their entire association, he would be left many a time sitting in some frustration himself. The kid was violence and judging from his lean musculature and the way he carried himself, he imagined that Takahashi knew how to hold up in a fight. He seemed to be something more of a street brawler and those of that type were the most unpredictable because they didn't stick to any recognized fighting protocols. No, they were more the type who fought to survive and that meant completely incapacitating their rivals even if that meant killing them. Yamamoto eyed the now calm Inuyasha then down to his clenching fists and wondered if he had ever killed anyone. He certainly looked like he could. He smiled grimly, he keep his eye on the boy.

"Yes well as I was saying, Nonomiya here is real tight with the chief. As a matter of fact they go back a few years at another precinct as beat cops. Anyway, he managed to sweet talk the chief and put in a good word for you. You're real lucky about that part of things 'cause he finally decided to take Nonomiya at his word and allow you in on the investigation. However he did stipulate that we had to bring you in to talk with him so that he could size you up himself." Inuyasha sat there stunned, his wide eyes focused on the broad, lounging figure across from him. Nonomiya couldn't help him-self and so burst out laughing.

"Ha ha, close you mouth and thank me kid. I told the boss that you're a hot- tempered young fool. If I hadn't told the boss that if he didn't reign you in now, you were more than likely to go streaking off on your own little vigilante crusade. And that, my friend would most definitely mess up all the head way that we've made in the investigation." Nonomiya chortled some more when he saw the red color rise up and wash over the boy's face. He continued to chuckle loudly even when he the saw hard glare directed at him before its laser intensity was turned onto his partner.

Takahashi bit out through clenched teeth, "Okay, so when do we do this?"

"Today, what do you say?" Nonomiya answered the question that was obviously not intended for him. Who cared? He liked messing with the kid, it was some of the best entertainment that he had had in awhile. God knows that he needed to laugh every now and then.

"Fine, just give me a minute," was the muttered reply and with that Inuyasha got up and stomped his way from the room.

***

"_Come on girl, wake up. It's time to play! I promise that you'll love it."_

She sucked in a deep breath as she surged up on the bed, a silent scream caught in the back of her throat. The urge to let it out continued to well up in the back of her throat, threatening to spill over and except for the small whimpering noises that managed to escape, she managed to control it and push it back down. She felt the trickle of perspiration on her body, the cool air from the open window raising chill bumps on her skin. _That voice,_ she thought, _oh god that voice! _

She was trembling terribly she knew that but she just couldn't control the heavy shudders that racked through her small body that had nothing to do with the cold. She was exhausted, so tired of being afraid, of not being able to sleep at night. She ran a shaky hand through her mussed dark hair and worried at her bottom lip as she closed her eyes tightly trying to get a hold on her emotions.

Tossing the sheets aside, she swung her legs over the edge of the bed, sat up and pressed her heated face into the cool palms of her hands. Exhaling deeply on a pent up breath that she hadn't realized that she had been holding in, she rose up from the bed and moved across the room to the adjoining bathroom. Flipping on the lights, she was momentarily startled at the image of herself in the mirror. For a second she stood before the mirror, staring at herself in there because she didn't recognize the face of the person staring back in stunned surprised.

The bruises, that had covered her entire face, although mostly healed over, left behind traces of slightly yellow discolorations. The gaunt features reflected back at her was unfamiliar and yet faintly reminiscent of the person that she had been before the _incident_ (as she had now come to call it). It was almost as though another person, almost identical had taken her place.

The deep shadows lining the underside of her eyes were evidence of lack of sleep and the new hollowness of her cheeks were from where she had stopped eating. Her skin was pallid, completely lacking in color, making her look like one of the undead. Where her body had been pleasantly plump and well rounded in femininity, the weight had dropped and made her appear slimmer. Her hair itself seemed to have lost its luster for life as well because where before it had curled wildly and naturally around her face, it now hung dull and limply. All of that however was not what had made her gasp in shock at her reflection, rather it had bee the dead look in her eyes. The lack luster glimmer for life that made her blue- gray eyes seem dull and cloudy. _I look like Kikyo now_, she thought woodenly.

She smiled grimly to herself in self-deprecation wondering to her-self where the person who had resolved that she would become stronger, and fight had gone. Completely disgusted with herself and her reflection, she ducked her head down, quickly washed her face and trudged back to her room. She glanced around the room at the clothes strewn about the floor before she threw herself across the bed and buried her face into the sheets. She would clean everything up later, maybe after a nap or maybe even tomorrow or maybe not at all. She couldn't bring herself to do anything right now. She was too tired.

She was jerked out of her half drowse by the loud and abrupt knocking at her door. Immediately, she knew who it was because there was only one person who would knock so perfunctorily and authoritatively at her door. There was only one person who had continued to come to her door every day even when she had made it clear to everyone that she had wanted to be alone. _Inuyasha._ She groaned lowly before burying her head back under the sheets. She didn't need this now, she really didn't. She didn't have any more strength left to hold him back, to keep him from seeing her like this.

"Kagome, open the door," came his deep voice, that drifted in, muffled slightly, through the door. She clenched her eyes shut, almost painfully, her hands coming up to cover her ears against the sound of his melodious voice traveling across the room into her starved senses. She couldn't help herself though, couldn't go on pretending an indifference towards him that she didn't feel. She craned her head and strained her neck in an effort to catch another sound from him. All week she had closed herself off from him, unwilling to let him see this weaker side of her. However doing so had not been easy and it had proved to be more draining, both physically as well as mentally, than anything else that she had ever done. She had missed him so much that it was almost like a physical ache. It hadn't all been fair to him but she had been so ashamed of what she had become that she just couldn't have bared to think of the look of disgust that would've come across his face when he finally saw just how pathetic she was.

"Kagome, I know that you're in there. Come on, open up…please!" She caught herself on a sob at the pleading tone that had slipped into his voice. She hadn't meant to punish him this way, had not known that he would've been so affected by selfishness. It had never been her intention to do anything that would've hurt him. She had to make it right, had to have him forgive her. It was that express need, the need to so badly make amends that she found herself propelled across the room towards the door. She hesitated with her shaking hand on the knob and bit her lip with indecision because she was afraid of what she would meet on the other side of it. What if he hated her for being weak? How could he not when he despise it so in himself? He was so strong and brave in wanting to so badly toss aside his frail human side as to go to the extent of risking his very life for the shikon jewel. He wouldn't want anything to do with a crybaby like her. He would have no use for her and there was no way that she could measure up to him.

She didn't know how long she stood there, gripping the cool brass knob before she came back to herself, shocked out of her thoughts by a light clicking sound. _Inuyasha._ He had sensed her nearby and she realized that what she had heard was his nails tap at the door. She pressed her forehead against the wood and closed her eyes as his soft whisper drifted to her in a soothing voice.

"Open it," the quiet authority in his voice was hard to resist and so she complied and finally unlocked and twisted the knob.

The moment the door was open, she found her-self swept up into his strong arms and pulled firmly against the solid wall of his chest, the intoxicating male scent of his skin filling her nose, the encouraging warmth of him engulfing her, making her feel safe and wanted. She couldn't help it. She had deprived herself of the comfort of his presence for so long. She took his scent in deeply as she inhaled, wanting to ingrain it in her mind and reacquaint her self with the lulling memory of him. She was dimly aware of him doing the same thing to her when she felt the soft press of his nose and the hot, damp feel of his opened mouth against the crease of her neck as she clutched at his wide shoulders. She shivered in pleasure and tilted her head more to the side to allow him better access when she felt him brushed his mouth lightly against the sensitive flesh there.

He had never done that before, she thought numbly. He had never held her so close to his body that her mind was sent on a whirlwind of sensation. She had never before felt the hot, rough feel of his tongue sliding up slowly against her flesh, inciting delicious quakings in the pit of her stomach. She clung to his wide, strong shoulders because her legs no longer had the strength to hold her up anymore. She embraced the feelings that he invoked in her, holding them tightly to her unwilling to ever release them.

The feel of him with her again proved to be too much to take in all at one time after spending so long away from him. She whimpered and then started crying, moans of anguish bursting forth and racking her entire body but instead of running back the way he had come in, his hold on her tightened even more instead. The warm, welcoming housing of his arms only made her cry harder. She had missed this so much, missed him even more.

"Shh, I've got you koishii. I've got you," Inuyasha whispered into her ear as he gently rocked her back and forth but it didn't help because she continued to cry, nearly inconsolably in her relief in being with him again. She cried in his arms for a long time after that and he simply stood there and held her until she wore herself out. When she had calmed down enough to only sniffling just a bit, she did briefly wander why he hadn't broken into his usual panicking frenzy. His usual _modus operandi _whenever she cried all over him. Giving a mental shrug, she heaved a sigh, not really caring why but just glad that he didn't and laid her head back against his chest. She allowed a little wobbly smile to break out on her face, thinking to herself, _He was so strong, so solid and warm_.

Inuyasha stood quietly, simply enjoying the feel of her softness in his arms before bending low, scooping her up and carrying her to the bed. He tried to set her down but she refused to let go and so he sat down, pulling her onto his lap. Once she was settled, she snuggled even deeper against him and it was a long time before either of them spoke.

"Sorry about wetting up your shirt," Kagome finally said, sitting up and brushing a hand down his soaked chest self- consciously. That was when she realized that he wore a plain white t- shirt and a pair of jeans instead of his fire rat robe. She felt him shrug his broad shoulders and turn a suddenly red face away from her.

"Keh…don't worry about it, it doesn't matter," he said, blushing lightly as she continued to touch him, running her small hands along the smooth, hard planes of his chest. He stole a glance at her and watched warily as her fine brows puckered into a crease in confusion across her forehead.

"Where did these come from?" she asked softly, looking up into his flustered face then down again, plucking at the fabric of his shirt, watching in some fascination as the nearly transparent shirt clung to him. He really had the most beautiful chest, so wide and hard, welcoming almost.

"Uh… from your mother. She gave them to me, said that I would fit in more in normal clothes," he whispered back, his breath quickening just a bit a she inadvertently brushed over his nipple. He was only slightly dismayed when it puckered and was clearly outlined by the wet shirt.

"Oh," was all she said as she leaned back against him and continued to draw tiny circles on his chest. She didn't notice when his breathing became just a bit harsher or his golden eyes darken to a deep hazel, completely oblivious to the turmoil that she caused him. She was dangerous in her innocence he acknowledged wryly when her fingers passed over the peaked nipple again. _Gods, what she does to me, _he thought, exerting a great effort in trying to desperately stymie his raging hormones. He made a grab for her small hand, held it in his own large one and pulled it away before intertwining their fingers. They sat together not saying a word, both unwilling to break the moment of contentment.

"Why did you keep me away from you?" He asked, unable to resist his curiosity any longer. He felt her body stiffen before she tried to pull away from him. He was having none of that because he wanted an answer and so he tightened his hold on her. "Oh no you don't, you're not getting away that easily. Answer the question."

He leveled a reproachful gaze on her down turned face, struggling with himself to remain patient. He didn't want to force her into any type of confrontation but he felt justified in trying to find some way to comfort her. The only way that he would know what he could do for her would be if she told him what had made her pull away from her family, from him. He had thought that the two of them had been through so much together that there would be no more secrets between them. He had been hurt when she had basically pushed him away and resolved to do everything on her own instead of relying on him to support her.

Kagome shifted uncomfortably, once again chewing at her bottom lip. She didn't know if she was ready to talk about this with him but she owed it to him as well as herself to be honest. She thought back and realized that not once in the past had Inuyasha ever been anything less than truthful with her. Evasive, yes but honest, sometimes brutally so but she knew that that was his way in dealing with anything emotional. It wouldn't be fair to him if she were any less truthful.

She felt the stinging prick of tears again and after a few failed attempts, she finally said, "I was too ashamed of myself. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for it to happen."

"SORRY? There's nothing for you to be sorry about. You had no control over what happened to you!" he shook her lightly as if to shake some sense into her. "Come on, I know you. You yell at me all the time for the smallest things. I can't believe that you would just curl up and let these ass wipes get the best of you like this. You're stronger than that!"

Kagome flinched at the sound of his raised voice before turning angry eyes to him. She struggled to wrest herself from his grip, pounding her closed fists against him. Except for the growls of annoyance emitted from the back of his throat, he barely registered her resistance because he didn't move or slacken his hold on her. She knew that she wouldn't be able to free herself, not if he didn't wish it but that didn't stop her from fighting him.

"No I'm not! I wish I were but I'm not, okay! Don't you get it? If I had been stronger, something like this never would've happened. I would've been able to do something." She struggled against him some more and he finally let her go. She wrapped her arms around herself and started to pace the floor, running her hands agitatedly through her hair. Inuyasha got up from the bed as well and stood with his fists balled into fists, his anger rendered potent by both the need to protect and his wanting to throttle her until she saw her worth.

"What? Is your brain broken or something? Don't be stupid! You're just one little girl who just happened to find herself up against some guys determined to do whatever the hell it was that they wanted to do. What could you have done huh?"

She sniffled harder, turned and looked at him with watery, red- rimmed eyes, "I don't know! Kikyo would've been able to…"

"Would you just shut up about that Kikyo shit? Do you think she was some kind of god or something? She was just a_ human_ Kagome. She's a flesh and blood woman just like you, with the same physical weaknesses and strengths. She wouldn't have been able to do a damned thing if she had been in your situation."

He huffed in frustration and turned away to stand in front of the window, hands on his hips. He hung his head down for a moment before turning it back to her to give her an intense glare. "I don't want you to blame yourself for this alright? You're not responsible for these guys or for their actions. You understand?" He glared at her for a long time and was not satisfied until she finally nodded her head submissively. _That's my bitch,_ he thought,grunting softly before he turned fully towards her and continued on, "Listen, I'm going to be in and out for awhile so I'm going to need you to be strong for me."

"Why?" she squeaked out. She had tried to be strong without him before and look where that had gotten her. The thought of his leaving her alone left her with a sense of dread filling her, smothering her.

He didn't answer her at first but instead turned back to gaze down at the sunlit pavement through the window. The old man stood at the far side of the yard, sweeping aside the golden and brown hued leaves that had fallen from the tree branches that hung overhead. It was a wasted effort though because by tomorrow morning, more would've fallen to take their place, not to mention that even now Souta ran through one of the neat piles, completely disrupting it and sending the leaves scattering to the ground again. Autumn was nearly over and the wind had picked up, taking on a colder bite. He needed to work fast on tracking these guys before the snow started to fall. It would be difficult to find his prey if they stayed in doors, easier for them to cover their tracks. Finally he answered her, "I'm going to look for the guys who did this to you."

"NO! I don't want that. I want you to stay here with me. Let the police handle everything else." Inuyasha looked at her, startled by her loud outburst. His face softened slightly when he saw her vulnerability worn plainly on her face and walked over to hold her by the shoulders. He stood close to her, trying to force her to look him in the eyes. It wasn't easy because she twisted her head and refused to do so, so he lifted her chin and held it still when she tried to move away. He didn't speak until she looked up into his intent amber gaze. He saw her pain, her fright reflected up at him. He vowed to her and to himself that he would do all that he could to take that look from her eyes and replace it with something good. Something good like love, for him.

"No Kagome, that's not even an option. I wish it were but I have to do this. I need to do this for you." He whispered so softly that Kagome stopped fighting him. She quailed a bit on the inside when saw the fierce determination that had his strong jaw jutting out in that stern, stubborn line and the hard glint in his golden eyes. She couldn't let him do this, not when she needed him here with her but she didn't know what to do to stop him, especially when he had already made up his mind. His canine tendencies were no more apparent than they were now when he made his mind up to do something. Once set on a course, it was hard to shake him off onto a different path. It would be better if she didn't try to fight and went along with it.

She held his gaze for a while before it dropped down to the hard curve of his lips that seemed to be inviting her to take a taste. He had to have had the most beautiful mouth that she had ever seen on a man. The smooth, sensual line of it brought to mind steamy kissing sessions and images of the different ways that he could use them, her mind flashing back to the erotica video that her friends had made her see on one of her rare trips home. His mouth tipped up at the left corner and it made him appear as though he were always on the verge of a very wicked smirk.

They were so close now and she wanted another kiss so badly that she couldn't resist the temptation any longer. Tipping up onto her toes, she pressed her lips against his in a chaste kiss that normally she wouldn't have been content with. The feel of his warm lips against her own was more than enough for now she thought dizzily. There was a moment of stunned surprise in which he did nothing but stand there wide eyed in surprise before he took over and heated things up by kissing her back.

And man what a kiss, she thought. She was swept away by the feelings that he generated inside her. The hot, eager press of his mouth as he devoured her, the hard steel band of his arms wrapped firmly around her, pulling her into the curve of his body. She shivered at the contact and arched her back, pressing her large, aching breasts against the hard wall of his chest. She felt so small against him, safe and protected and she never wanted to let go of that feeling. She was greedy for him and she never realized how much she had been missing until he had truly kissed her at the hospital. She cried out in dismay when he pulled away from her, both of them breathing harshly, eyes focused on nothing but each other.

She gasped at the fierce heated look in his eyes, the mysterious gleam there bringing to mind something that was feral and not quite tame. She shivered again in excitement at the delicious thrill of anticipation that that scorching look sent through her, the possible meaning behind it had the inner muscles in her stomach clenching eagerly. She felt the wetness gathering between her thighs, coating her panties in her arousal and she thought distantly that she should be embarrassed because she knew that he could smell it. She felt wicked instead, sexy in knowing that he knew that she wanted him, that she was ready for him. He groaned out loud as though he were in pain before he bent low again to nibble at her bottom lip before soothing it by sucking it into his mouth again. He pulled away abruptly and she hastily followed after his lips with her own, a whimper of protest on her breath as he gently pushed her away.

"If you thought that that would change my mind, you can think again. Damn it Kagome, don't look at me like that!" he said when she stepped back and glared at him, angry that he thought that she would use something like that against him.

She turned her back on him and walked on unsteady legs over to her desk to fiddle with the objects there, wanting to do anything to take her mind off of that kiss. Inuyasha stood in frustration for a while, giving her time to calm herself, giving him self time to force down his rampant erection before giving up on that idea. He realized that he had made an error in assuming the way he did. Kagome was not one to employ such tactics to get him to do what she wanted… no she would've railed at him and used the magic of the prayer beads until he did. He moved up behind her and pulled her against his body, his hands coming around and resting just under the heavy weight of her breasts. His mind went instantly blank, her deep cleavage almost proving too much. He had always had a naughty fascination with her luscious breasts, so large and tempting, begging for his touch. Her breathing increased, inadvertently causing his thumbs to brush the underside of them lightly, repeatedly and it was all that he could do to try to focus in on what he wanted to say to her. _Soon,_ he thought, _real fucking soon._

"Look, these guys are still out there. What they did to you, they could do to someone else and I know that you don't want that. Besides… the sooner I get these guys, the sooner you'll be able to relax and heal. The sooner we can put this behind us and get on with our lives… together." She sniffed softly but didn't say anything, not really understanding what he was saying, thinking that he referred to their continued hunt for the jewel shards.

Putting his mouth against her ear, he pulled her closer to the heat of his body so that she was leaning fully against him. He felt her tremble when she felt the jut of his erection against her back and was encouraged further when she didn't pull away. He wrapped his arms around her, shocked again at how tiny she really was, and rested his chin against her shoulder.

"What would you say if I were to ask you to be my mate?" he asked in a husky voice. He didn't know what had led him to ask her that question but the only excuse that he could say was that it had been her response to his kiss and the wild thought that maybe if he gave her something new to focus on that the dead look in her eyes would go away. His hold on her loosened when she whirled around in the circle of his arms so fast that he was almost knocked off of his feet in surprise.

"Mate? What does that mean? Is that what I think it is?" she asked in a small voice as she searched his face, looking for a hint that he might be joking. She didn't dare hope that she was really hearing Inuyasha asking her to be his wife. No it was too close to her one of her dearest, most private fantasies to really be true. She didn't know what she would do if she were to wake up and realize that all this was a dream. She watched his lips move but couldn't shake free from her daze long enough to catch all that he said. Instead she forced herself to focus long enough to catch the tail end of what he said.

"I had wanted to wait until Naraku was dead and we had gotten rid of the jewel but I think that the present is as good as any other. I want you to know that I'm here for you, that I still think that you are one of the most amazing women that I have ever met." He watched cautiously as her brows drew down in consternation. He wandered what was going on in that pretty little head of hers but almost cursed a blue streak when she granted him his wish.

"What about Kikyo?"

"What about her? She's not all that important," he said shortly, frustrated that she would latch onto the one conflict that had yet to be resolved between him and his former love. He knew Kagome's insecurities but he couldn't do anything to assure her that he was sincere unless he completely broke it off with Kikyo. Something that he couldn't do until he resolved the situation with her attackers in her time. Until then, he didn't want to think or even talk about Kikyo. This was about the two of them and their lives together, no one else.

"I thought that… you and she…that," she was silenced by a clawed finger resting against her lips. He raised his hands and held her by the neck on both sides, his thumbs coming up to graze the sides of her cheeks. He rested his forehead against hers and looked her in the eyes.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you think too much?" he said, a little smirk pulling at the left corner of his mouth. Her blue- gray eyes widened before a bright smile burst across her face in response.

"Only you! Only you," she whispered the last part as he leaned closer and pecked her lightly on the lips. She sighed happily before wrapping her arms around his neck and drawing him closer for another, longer, deeper kiss. Things heated up fairly quickly and before she knew it, she laid on the bed with a very sexy, very amorous hanyou hovering over her. The kiss was steamy, wet and exciting and completely different from previous ones. This kiss was about possession plain and simple. He glided his hands lightly over her throat, dipping into the hollow of her delicate neck bones before sliding lower. She gasped out loud when she felt his large hand close over her right breast, the nipple beading tightly through her shirt. He seemed please with the hard pebbling because he squeezed and rolled it between his fingers before engulfing her breast and kneading it.

He took advantage of her surprise and delved his tongue into her mouth, mating it vigorously with her own. They both groaned and before she knew it, her shirt went sailing across the room and the heat of his mouth closed over her breast, her hands tangled in his long hair holding him there. She cried out at the searing heat of his tongue laving her nipple, his strong white teeth nipping the coral crest alternatively. The mix of pain and pleasure felt so good that she never wanted him to stop. He shifted his attention to the other breast, suckling just as avaraciously as he did the other, his hot palm kneading the wet bud of the other.

She felt the hard intense press of his lips against hers, felt her heart quicken and leap up to her throat. Its pace was frantic and grew more so when the fingers of one hand ghosted up the outer sides of her bare thigh to wrap it around his lean waist, the other hand leaving her breast and reaching up to twist possessively in her hair pulling her head back for a deeper probing of his tongue. His hard jean– clad thighs widened, spreading her own to make room for him and for a while he knelt there, kissing her witless.

She felt a heavy twinge at the bottom of her stomach as she felt the rough tip of his tongue caress alongside the corner of her mouth. His breath against her was hot and sweet, the damp feel of his tongue tangling with her own made the knot in her stomach tighten even more and the need to relieve the ache between her thighs became unbearable, made her desperate with need.

She pressed her body closer to his, trying in some way to relieve it and heard him moan when her wiggling caused her stomach to brush against the hard bulge of his jeans. His breathing was just as labored and fast as hers and she squealed in delight when his hand wove around to slide into the leg of the shorts to squeeze spasmodically at the bare flesh of her bottom. She moaned out loud again when he shifted his weight and pressed, then tentatively rocked the hard ridge of his erection right where she needed it the most.

"Mmm…Inuyasha…oh please, please," she gasped, when he did it again and again, setting a slow, steady pace that only made her clutch at him and beg him to give her more. She felt his quick hot breaths on her ear as he moved against her and it excited her more that she could do that to him. She mewled and moved her hips against his, meeting his thrusts, clutching and pulling at his hair in her pleasure.

"Gods! Kagome…you like that?" he whispered against her mouth, he leaned up to push her full breasts together, the large crests of her puckered nipples enticing him, begging him to taste, instead he ignored them and licked a long wet trail along the deep crease of white flesh there. She was so sweet, so beautiful. Her face was flushed, her eyes closed in pleasure, her little rosebud mouth pursed into a circle and he loved that he was the one to give her that pleasure.

"Harder…please…oh please," was the breathy sound of her stuttered plea. He grinned into her shoulder as she tightened her legs around him and weakly clawed at his bottom, trying to get him to push harder. When he didn't do what she wanted, she swatted him there and was pleased when his jerk of surprise caused him to press against her with just the right amount of pressure. He quickly got over his shock and growled sexily into her ear in mock anger before he ducked his head and gave her a wet, open- mouthed kiss that was so erotic that it left them both gasping afterwards.

Her eyes were wide open now and she looked him in the eyes. They continued that connection as he continued to slowly build her up with that slow and steady rocking, until finally at last, the spasm of her orgasm took hold of her. He watched her shudder, saw her eyes close as she reached that peak, even as he continued to thrust against her, and sent her once again over the edge. He pushed his face into the crook of her neck, licked and nibbled there before he followed after her over the same edge and lay panting against her for a long time. He was careful to keep most of his weight off of her not wanting to reopen the wound on her abdomen.

They were both wet from sweat and the pungent smell of sex permeated the air all around them but they were both content and comfortable, damp foreheads pressed together. When he rolled over to the side, throwing an arm over his brow, she felt immediately bereft and so she followed him, throwing one long leg across his waist. His warm hand came around, boldly running up her leg and rested possessively against the generous swell of her hip. Turning onto his side and propping his head against his hand, he looked down at her and smiled goofily, when she pulled close enough to kiss him on the neck.

"So I take it that the answer is a yes?" he asked, his wondrous eyes darting over her flushed face almost as if he couldn't get enough of looking at her.

"Yes!" was the exuberant reply as she smiled happily up at him.

Leaning over her, he kissed her softly, slowly before asking, "Did you like what I did to you?" he was pleased when she smiled again and nodded her head shyly as he twined their fingers together. He stared at her, into her eyes before bringing their joined hands together and kissing the back of her hand, all without looking away from her. His gaze softened as he watched her snuggle closer to him.

"Good. Now, maybe the next time when we make love again, you'll be completely naked and I'll be inside you," he whispered huskily against her ear. He kissed her there and nibbled the edge of her lobe; wanting to love her all over again in the way that he had just described to her, "I promise that you'll love it." He pulled away and watched in confusion as the happy smile fell away from her face and all color drained from her face. She stared up at him unseeingly for a while before fighting her way free of him to sit up.

"No! No!" she was trembling all over and immediately he got up and wrapped his arms around her as she shook her head over and over, crying out no the entire time. He cursed himself for being ten times the fool. How could he have done this to her? He knew what she had been through and he had sworn that he wouldn't push her like this. Now because of his impatience to have her, his gladness that she had agreed to become his mate, that he had allowed himself to forget what had been done to her.

"Aww baby I'm sorry…I…I'm an ass. I didn't mean…shit!" he was at a complete loss for words and all he could do was hold her.

Kagome felt terrible. She knew that he had mistakenly interpreted her outburst but she didn't correct him or even assure him that her present state wasn't his fault. The truth of it was that she couldn't manage to get any sound around the lump that sat in her throat but she let him hold her because she needed the comfort.

"I'm so sorry, Kagome. I wouldn't blame you if you decided not to be with me now. I didn't…"

"No! No, please don't. I want to be with you." Kagome said. What he had began to say had her panicking and turning towards, clutching at him, wanting that to be enough to keep him with her. "Oh please. It's not you. I mean…I want to be with you that way…it's just that…just not now. I don't think I'm ready yet…but I do want to be your mate, if you still want me to be."

"Shh, don't worry. I can wait. I don't want to rush you. We can take things as slowly as you want okay?"

"Okay," she closed her eyes as he leaned forward and kissed her forehead. She opened them again as he got up from the bed and stalked across the room to where he had thrown her shirt. He stared at it a moment before looking back at her with a heated look in his eyes that was quickly veiled. That look was what reminded her that she sat up in the bed, her bare breasts out for all to see. She crossed her hands over her ample chest and watched as he prowled closer to her. He stood before her and handed her the shirt before leaning over her and pressing a hard kiss against her already swollen lips. He pulled away slightly and whispered, his hot breath tickling her wet lips.

"I'll be back later tonight, okay? I'll send your mother up with a plate for you." He kissed her again, lingering a second more before walking out, quietly closing the door behind him.

***

Two different sets of emotions warred against each other inside of him. He was unsure of which one he should be feeling but he knew that they both were strong. Happiness at having secured his future with the woman that he wanted fought valiantly against anger with himself for pushing him-self on her the war that he had. He just couldn't understand this strange overwhelming urge to suddenly connect with Kagome on a physical level so badly when he had waited patiently for nearly two years. It was unsettling.

"What's wrong dear?" he was jerked out of his reverie by the soft, lilting sound of Itsuko's voice. He looked around him in bewilderment. His mind had been turned so far inward that he had not realized that he had made his way down the stairs into the kitchen.

"No, no. I'm fine. It's nothing. Uh…Kagome, could you take her something to eat. I got her to let me in." he watched the concerned face of Kagome's mother brighten in delight before she set off scurrying about the kitchen preparing a plate of oden to take upstairs.

"Oh Inuyasha, I told Dad that you would be good for her. She responds so well to you that I don't know what she would've done if she didn't have you to rely on." Itsuko, skipped over to him, both hands holding plates and tipped up on her toes to kiss his cheek. She pulled back and smiled at him. "Would you like to take your plate and eat with her dear?"

"No thank you. I'm heading down to the station with Nonomiya and his partner. I'll probably be back before dinner, maybe earlier." He struggled with indecision, wandering if he should tell Itsuko about him and Kagome or leave it up to her. He decided to drop a hint and allow Kagome to broach the rest of the subject.

"Itsuko…" he waited until she put the plates down and turned to him before continuing. "What would you say if I asked Kagome to marry me?"

Itsuko stared at him in surprise, obviously unsure where that particular question had come in but before she could open her mouth to respond, both their attentions were drawn by the slamming of the screen door as Nonomiya stepped in from outside a disgruntled look on his craggy face.

"Ah, there you are boy. I thought for a minute there that I would have to come up and drag you in by that pretty long hair of yours. Come on then, times a wasting," looking at Mrs. Higurashi, he tipped his hat to her and stepped back through the door. Inuyasha felt a little awkward after that, subconsciously looking down at the ground rather than Itsuko's face.

"Inuyasha…"

"Guess that's my cue then. I'll see you later," With that he beat a hasty retreat from the house and followed after the detective who had already started down the shrine steps toward the black car waiting below.


	11. Chapter 11

I do not own Inuyasha in any way shape or form. However the story is an original plot with the occasional original character. Please enjoy and review.

The Love of a Hanyou

Chapter 10

***

Inuyasha climbed out of the back seat of the black car, slamming the door behind him as he looked up at the large white building before him. He had never before seen such a tall structure up close before, especially not one made out of this type of building material that was so accessible to every pedestrian. The only buildings in his time that were of this magnitude happened to only belong to rich lords who had presided over their keeps for centuries, like his brother.

On the ride from the Higurashi shrine to the police station, he had seen many other buildings that were just as tall, some even bigger, in different colors, all of which seemed to allow the free comings and going of any average citizen. He assumed that in Kagome's time there was little to no distinction between the classes. This was a place where a prominent land owner could walk side by side with the poorest of all denizens and not have someone think twice about it.

He snorted disdainfully and then chuckled in amusement to himself. Wouldn't Sesshomaru just love that, no grovelling servants and to be pronounced an equal of a human. He would pay any amount of money to see that sour look come over the prick's face.

"Hey kid, you coming or are you just going to stand there sky gazing?" Nonomiya shouted back at him. He stood with one foot on the step, squinting down at him, his hand held up to shade his eyes from the glare of the sun. Inuyasha shrugged his shoulders negligently before bounding up the stairs and passing Nonomiya. Yamamoto waited for them just inside, his back turned towards them behind the double glass doors. He paused a moment, waiting for Nonomiya to catch up and surpass him with an agitated harrumph before moving forward.

Inuyasha grinned at his huffing bulk, hitched his hands into the front pockets of his jeans and followed at a sedate pace, pausing occasionally to glance at something that caught his eye. Stepping through another set of double doors, these ones wooden this time, he was almost immediately overwhelmed by the incredible hustle and bustle going on around him.

His ears clamped down to his skull under his cap at the loud din of noise. Shrieks of outrage and loud wails punctured the air around him, people bustling from one side of the room to another. It was nothing but chaos. Pure, unadulterated chaos. He hated it.

There were desks set up in somewhat neat rows across the room, each one piled up and loaded to capacity with its own assortments and stacks of paper and such. At just about every desk sat men and women dressed in dark blue uniforms. Some sat alone writing or looking at computers, others either doing both or talking to some pretty unsavory looking characters that looked to have crawled out from some of Japan's disreputable hovels.

In the midst of all this awe- inspiring confusion he failed to pay attention to where he was going and so walked right into someone who immediately fell back when they collided. Of course, he him self was unmoved but it was still rather annoying to have felt his body come into contact with someone else. He hated being touched, had never liked it, sometimes gave him a rash even. He looked down to see a large, scruffy man with a split lip and a malodorous scent that seemed to cling tightly to his skin like some sick dockside whore, scramble up hastily to his feet. He especially hated it when the offender looked so ugly.

"Hey punk! Watch where you going!" the man fairly spat in his face, as he struggled to keep his balance which proved to be a task since he appeared to have had both of his hands tied behind his back, not to mention, judging by the heavily slurred words, incredibly inebriated.

Inuyasha looked him up and down slowly before bearing his teeth in a wolfish grin and shoving past the man causing him to teeter precariously before finally losing the battle and falling flat on his ass. He didn't bother to turn around as he walked away from the man who continued to bluster and curse at his back.

He sidled up to Yamamoto and Nonomiya who had both stopped to watch the whole debacle. Nonomiya shook his head in amusement before turning to the side.

"Hey Sagawa! Where's the chief?" Nonomiya directed his question to a rather harried looking young man in the blue uniform, who sat riffling through a huge pile of papers on his desk. The young man's looked baffled for a moment before his expression cleared.

"He's watching the interrogation going on in room three." Nodding his head in thanks, Nonomiya shuffled his way across the room to another set of double doors. Inuyasha followed closely behind him with Yamamoto following a few steps behind, shaking his head disparagingly. How many god damn doors did a building need?

"You're looking to get your head chewed off Nonomiya. You know how the chief gets when you barge in on an interrogation," Yamamoto drawled out slowly, his hands buried deeply into his trouser pockets.

"Bah! The chief won't mind, besides he's only watching not conducting. That my friend makes a difference. He said himself that he wanted to interview our friend here as soon as possible. I'm just following orders. He can't get mad because of that."

Yamamoto scoffed at the rejoinder but didn't say anything further. Nonomiya led them down a brightly lit corridor that was so narrow that two men could barely walk shoulder to shoulder comfortably. They continued to walk a certain distance before they veered off to the right, turning the knob of an adjacent door and boldly stepping through it without even bothering to knock.

The room was dark, the only light in there coming from the large window that overlooked a brightly lit room. There were three men in the other room; one sat at the lone desk, large rivulets of sweat running down his cheeks; which was probably due to the overly bright light burning above his head. Two other men in short sleeves rolled up the elbows alternately circled around the room like vultures waiting for their prey to give up the ghost so that they could swoop in and begin their feast.

They asked the man questions in rapid succession leaving him to swivel his head frantically at a speed that Inuyasha thought would be sure to give him whiplash, trying to keep his eyes on them both. Their voices escalated to a loud pitch, coaxing and then demanding, one even going so far as to slamming a hand against the desk which reflexively caused the man to jump in surprise and emit a loud squeak.

Inuyasha switched his gaze away from the verbal massacre going on in there and focused his attention instead on the lone man who stood silently in the room they had just walked into. The man hadn't acknowledged their presence, his whole concentration trained intently on the proceedings in the other room.

He couldn't see much of the man's face except for his profile. He was dressed austerely in gray slacks, suspenders and a white dress shirt. His hair was black, streaked heavily with gray, raked back off of his high forehead. His black brows were drawn down into a tight crease of concentration, his jaw clenching then unclenching.

Nonomiya stepped forward to stand next to the man and cleared his throat loudly when all had gone quiet in the other room. Inuyasha turned to see that the two men who had been aggressively badgering the man had left the room. The man who sat in his seat appearing to be on the very edge of a nervous breakdown, finally buckled down and dropped his head on the table before him. Inuyasha could see the tension drain out from his hunched shoulders before they relaxed.

He almost felt sorry for the poor bastard. Almost. No longer interested, his attention returned to the whispered conversation between Nonomiya and the unknown man. He had missed a large portion of what was being said having had been caught up in his perusal of the other room, so now he strained forward to catch what he could. Without being obvious. Damned hat muffled his hearing.

He caught his name being mentioned before he was met with dark eyes that glittered with sharp intelligence, set in a deeply wrinkled face.

When he man completely turned his gaze towards him, Inuyasha felt his body stiffen, there was something about that gaze that set his senses to jittering. He couldn't quite pinpoint exactly why but he decided that he would keep a close eye on the old man. He seemed to be even wilier than Nonomiya was. He hated wily old men.

The man broke away from Nonomiya and made his way over to where he stood with Yamamoto, stopping when there were only a few feet in front of them. "Hello there young man, the name is Chief Miyosawa Pat. A pleasure to finally meet you," he said whilst extending his hand towards him. When Inuyasha didn't make a move to take his hand, Miyosawa grunted and folded his hands across his chest.

"Aah so this is the infamous Inuyasha that I've heard so much about." the man said, darting an unenthusiastic eye towards the other occupants in the room before looking back at Inuyasha. The dark eyes that hid under equally dark brows stared hard at him as though searching for some weak point, which if he said so him self, were none.

"So tell me boy, what makes you think that you are prepared to jump into a situation that normally takes years for one much older than you to even train for?"

Inuyasha was startled by the question. He had never imagined that he would ever have to explain himself to a human about his strength, his superiority. But then he reminded himself that he was in Kagome's time, where hardly any demons were ever even heard of except in children's fairytales.

"Well quite frankly, I'm way better than any of the other guys out there in strength and speed, there's no doubt about it. I can get the ob done much faster than any of you old geezers could," Inuyasha stated confidently.

"Oh, is that so? And what brought you to that conclusion hmm except for you youth?"

"Have you looked around in that other room lately?" Inuyasha retorted with a snort as he thought back to the overweight men dressed in blue, waddling across the room from one side to another. It was disgusting to really think about it actually, slabs of skin sagging over belt buckles, over large stomachs jostling under tight fitting shirts. Not everyone was like that, Inuyasha would give them credit for that but there was certainly enough of them to make one wonder if any crimes were actually being solved.

Instead of wringing out an embarrassing sound of remorse from the short old man, he instead received a robust bark of amused laughter that seemed to echo all through out the room. He was confused and if there was anything that he hated most was being confused, especially when it was a result of other people laughing at him, like now. Growling lowly in the back of his throat, he balled his fists tightly, trying desperately to reign in his temper. It wouldn't do to sock the bastard clean through to the other room.

"Whoa, whoa there Pat. Watch it their now, our little friend here is getting kind of agitated. I don't care much what you do to him just as long as I'm not in the room when the explosion comes," Nonomiya chuckled out, with his arms raised high in a warding gesture.

"Okay kid if you want to show me how keen you are, come on over here," the chief tipped his head in the direction of the lit window. Without hesitation, Inuyasha made his way to stand beside the overset man and they both stared at the man on the other side of it.

Inuyasha studied the man, noted that the harassed look that he had on his face when he had been interrogated earlier was gone. His thin shoulders still retained a bit of his nervous tension but other than that he seemed to be marginally more relaxed.

"Tell me, what do you see?" Pat Miyosawa asked him. Inuyasha looked at him for a moment before turning back to look more closely at the man.

He couldn't smell the man's scent, not with the large, thick glass between them but he could see him well enough. His hanyou sight able to tell him way more about the subject, being able to operate well beyond the scope of a normal human being's. He used those senses now, knowing without being told that what made him unique in the human realm would help him to achieve what it normally wouldn't in his own.

"I see a dirty, disheveled man. His hair is oily, matted, meaning that he probably hasn't washed it in a good long while. His coat has holes in the elbows; the material thin, grimy, it's probably because he wears it all the time, maybe even the only one he might own.

His skin's pasty, sallow with lots of splotches, his eyes over- bright and feverish. He's sick most like, suffering from something. Probably something that could be deadly." As he spoke, he thought about the many times that he had passed by opiate houses in the towns that he sometimes passed through in sengoku.

He thought about the awkward behavior that those users exhibited when they were under the influence or even when they were trying to their level best to get under said influence. The behavior was wild, unhinged, almost as though the person themselves were possessed by a youkai or some other malevolent spirit.

The skin pallor was just as sickly and gaunt as this man's. The bones of their faces protruding sharply under the taut leathery texture of their skin.

He narrowed his golden gaze before turning them toward Chief Miyosawa with a look of triumph on his face, knowing that he would pass this test. "He's a drug user!" Inuyasha didn't get the exact reaction that he was looking for from the man; instead all he received was a slow nod.

He watched as Miyosawa continued to watch through the window pane and so he too did so. He noticed when the two men from earlier, obviously detectives, walk into the room and resumed from where they had left off from. Miyosawa shifted to his left, raised his finger and leaned against a small red button stationed beside the window.

Inuyasha felt his ears twitch under his yellow cap from the sudden burst of sound, the deep calm voices of the men in the other room, drifted into the room, sounding almost as though they were all in the same room together. The drug user's name was Maoki and he was obviously in deep shit from the softly spoken accusations that were being tossed his way.

Maoki was a small town hick who had moved from his village into the city, hoping to make it big and make a name for him self. Instead of hooking up with his dream job, he hooked up with cocaine and lots of it. He had sold everything he had and lost all contact with his family, all in an effort to get his hands on as much cocaine as possible, snorting it, and smoking it, injecting it even to feed his addiction.

Now his love for it and gotten him knee deep in trouble because he had made a deal with the devil. In exchange for one pound of cocaine from his dealer, he had agreed to stand watch whilst a gaggle of goons robbed a convenience store and make sure that nothing untoward happened.

Only something did happen, something had gone horribly wrong resulting in the death of the store manager and two other employees. The actual perpetrators having done the crime had gotten away through the service entrance behind the store, but poor Maoki hadn't been so lucky.

When he had heard the first gunshot, Maoki had been out of there like a bat out of hell and probably would've been able to sink into the underground of the city too. Unfortunately for Maoki though, he had been stationed out in front of the store in full view of all the local market goers who had been able to give out his description and a few others who even knew his usual hangout spots.

Those few had been quick to hand out that particular information to the police in hopes of not being busted for being caught with cocaine on their own persons.

Yeah Maoki was one poor son of a bitch who had gotten himself into some serious bit of trouble with no way or hopes of getting out of it.

"Now my friend, why don't you do us all a favor here and tell us where we can find you cronies huh?" said the detective who leaned negligently in the farthest corner of the room, inspecting his tie and brushing off imaginary flecks of dirt on it.

His manner was lazy, all muscles and sinews relaxed and not in the least frightening. His dark eyes however, revealed a whole other story. They were hard and glinted ruthlessly with something dangerous. Inuyasha admired him his gaze, in his lifetime he had not come across many humans who could glare in such a menacing manner without them being insane or power hungry in the midst of war.

"I…I…I don't know who you're t…ta…talking about. I had nothing to do with those murders last week I tell you. I was just standing outside the shop minding my own business you know? Just waiting outside there bumming around for a buck or two!" Maoki stammered out, his bony, dirt encrusted hands shaking and twisting nervously before him. Maoki knew what was good for him.

Yeah he knew exactly what was good for him and it sure as hell had nothing to with any cop that was for sure. He might have been stupid enough to muck up his dreams, stupid enough in get caught up in some even stupider things but he was smart enough to know what was good for him.

He knew that if he tattled now it would mean his life, he wouldn't be safe anywhere, whether it was on the street or even in prison. _They_ would find him, _they _would always find him. _They_ had people everywhere. No, he was better off if he just kept silent.

"Now look here Maoki, we know what happened there and we know you were in on it. Even if you were just hanging around outside the store, we know that you were there long enough to get a really good look at our guys."

"No! No, I didn't see anything. I had nothing to do with it. I didn't see anyone I tell you." Maoki was highly agitated now, banging his hands against the table to emphasize his so called innocence. Why wouldn't they all just leave him be. He wasn't doing anything to anybody!

The two detectives sighed in frustration, they had been at it for days trying just about all their strategies to get Maoki to give up the information that they wanted but he had responded to none of it. Maoki wasn't afraid of prison, wasn't afraid of physical violence, nothing.

On the other side of the panel, Inuyasha stood ramrod straight, watching the fidgety man shout and beg to be left alone. He knew something, he was sure of it but he was afraid to let go of that information. He was afraid of someone; he could see it in the tightly pinched lips, the strained, red-rimmed eyes.

He turned his head towards the chief and didn't remove his gaze until Miyosawa turned towards him. They stared at each other for an intense moment before Miyosawa spoke through the microphone next to him.

"Ok boys, that's enough. Time to send in some fresh ammunition." The two detectives in the lit room looked confused for a moment before shrugging their shoulders and quitting the room.

"Ok kid, show me what you got. Yamamoto let him in." Inuyasha turned and followed the younger man out of the room. Nonomiya moved closer to Miyazawa looking confident and smug. "You better be right about this kid Nonomiya or less it's gonna be both of our pensions on the line."

Nonomiya did nothing but continue to smile.

***

Yamamoto let Inuyasha to door of the bright room with nothing more than a pat on his shoulder and a flippant "we'll be watching" before leaving. Inuyasha stepped into the room, closing the door as silently behind him as he had opened it.

He noted how small the room was and also how bare it was. He looked at the opposite wall, over Maoki's shoulder at the window, expecting to see Nonomiya and the chief standing there but was shocked instead to find his own reflection staring back at him. _Interesting_, he thought.

Getting over his shock, he stiffened his shoulders; he had business to deal with. The sooner he proved himself, the sooner he would get onto finding his true query. He prowled closer to the unsuspecting human on silent feet, his breathing all but undetectable, his presence unfelt.

A smirk of sadistic pleasure crept across his face, the rush of the hunt flowing freely through his veins. He had become domesticated as of late, allowing Kagome's mother to feed and care for him for the past few days, not even taken up the urge to go for a run through his forest.

It had been awhile since he had truly set out to hunt prey though his forest. He could smell the blood flowing in the man's veins however, the scent of it was heavily laden with the residual smell of drugs and the man also hadn't bathed in at least a month he was sure.

It didn't matter though. He didn't hunt in order to eat. No he hunted simply to put the fear of the gods into his prey. He fully intended to get everything that he possibly could from this little rat. Yes, whatever he was afraid of now, he would fear no more.

He leaned in close behind the man, whose head still lay on the table, putting his mouth close to his ear, not breathing, not wanting to stir him.

"Boo!" he whispered darkly, stepping back and watching with fanatical delight as Maoki jumped up, swinging back and forth, wild eyed, trying to see behind him but he couldn't, not with his hands manacled in front of him to the desk.

Inuyasha relished in the sound of the rapid beating of the man's heart. He allowed his amusement to spill over into a husky chuckle that sent a shiver of fear running down the man's spine. He knew because he smelled it.

He folded his arms across his broad chest and moved around to stand in front of the frightened man, his grin widening just enough to show case his over long canines. He ran his tongue along the razor- sharp edge, cutting it in the process. His grin widened even further at panicked look that came across Maoki's haggard face.

He leaned over the table, splaying his hands wide before him, making sure to bring attention to his sharp claws. It pleased him when Maoki took the hint and let his eyes become riveted by the sight of them.

Inuyasha flexed his claws letting the sharp ends become embedded in the dark steel, leaving deep grooves in their weak. Maoki went absolutely still. The stink of fear wafted up from around him and filled his nostrils. His tightly leashed inner youkai snarled in satisfaction.

"I hear you've been giving a bit of trouble," Inuyasha said, his voice deep, threatening. He leaned a bit closer, forcing the other man to look at him. "I don't like trouble." He watched the other man's eyes widen in fear when his eyes flashed red a moment before Maoki began to scream out loud.

"Devil!" Maoki finally managed to stammer out. "What do you want? I didn't do anything I swear!"

"Oh, is that a fact? Don't play games with me you little worm. You smell of lies and that my friend is something that I don't take to well. Especially when it is done to my face," Inuyasha growled lowly. Maoki whimpered something out. He was in serious trouble he knew that.

"I'm not lying I swear!" Maoki tried once more.

"No lying. I don't like it. The smell of it nearly always makes me want to wretch. No wait, that's just the smell of your unwashed body. I don't have time for games so maybe I should just go ahead and rip your tongue out your head, right now, right here. What do you think of that?"

"Oh god!" Maoki very nearly pissed his pants in his fear as he watched the demon prowl closer towards him, trailing those wicked claws in the deep groves of the table.

"Your God won't help you now. Listen to me. All you have to do is say out loud what it is both you and I know that you did and we can just simple forget that I ever visited you here. What do you say huh? Sound like a deal?"

"No I can't do that. They'll kill me, I know it. That's what they said that they would do!"

"Who are they?" Inuyasha asked quietly, narrowing his eyes when the little weasel instead of answering the question, shook his head frantically from side to side, sobbing pitifully to himself.

"No I don't want to die. I'm afraid."

Inuyasha moved to stand behind Maoki so quickly that it barely registered. He leaned in close, pressing the very tips of his sharpened claws heavily against the man's skinny, little throat. He brought his mouth close to his ear and snarled menacingly into it. "Let me tell you right now. If there is anyone that you should be afraid of, you had better believe that it would be me!"

Maoki jerked wildly, screaming loudly, causing his throat to be nicked by Inuyasha's claws. That however didn't deter the man from thrashing around carelessly. Inuyasha stepped back from him, smiling wickedly.

The man had obviously snapped just a bit, whether it was from the withdrawal from the drugs or simply because fear had taken a hold of him, he wasn't sure. One thing that he did know though was that it was only a matter of time before the man gave up the information that he wanted to know.

"Please, please. Someone help me! Get me out of here. Please! I'll tell you anything you want. Just get me away from this freak! He's a demon I tell you! Oh god, oh god!" Maoki yanked as hard as he could against his bonds, struggling his damnedest to get as far away as possible from the silver haired demon before him. There was no doubt in his mind that this man was anything but. No one could tell him otherwise.

The long white hair unnatural for anyone that young to sport, the cat like golden eyes that had flashed wickedly to a deep blood red and back again had given him away. Those large, canine teeth, that were just sharp enough to tear a man's flesh from his bones, those claws, oh god, those claws, were just testaments to that very fact.

Why had they locked him up with this monster?! He had never done anything to anybody. At least nothing bad, not directly. He shivered once more. Oh God, this demon had come for his immortal soul. He was way past redemption. The good lord wouldn't forgive him for any of the sins that he had committed.

This was his punishment now, to be taken and ravaged by this creature of Satan. To be dragged down to the very pits of hell where he would burn for all of eternity.

He didn't want to die. He didn't want to go hell. He didn't want to be anywhere near this beautiful creature with his evil eyes and his wolf's teeth. He needed to repent, now. He needed to do the right thing so that God would forgive him.

Maoki locked eyes with the beast in front of him. He saw his death there but he also saw his salvation. This being before him was instrument for both Satan and God and would make a quick act of ravaging him and feasting on his flesh if he should make the wrong decision. Maoki breathed a sigh that was filled with both long suffering and relief before looking back up at the beautiful wild creature before him.

"I understand now," Maoki whispered with a feverish gleam in his eyes. Inuyasha was momentarily taken aback by this abrupt change in behavior.

"What is it that you seem to think that you understand?" Inuyasha hissed out, narrowing his golden gaze, the heat of it gone decidedly cold. The little rat squeaked in alarm before stammering out a reply.

"I know why you've been sent to me. You've come to test me, to test my faith. You know my secret don't you?" he whispered conspiratorially. Inuyasha had no idea what the hell the guy was talking about but he figured that if he kept quiet long enough and simply glare at him then Maoki would continue to tell him what he wanted to know.

Maoki glanced around the room as though searching for someone who might be hiding in the room before tilting forward and whispering in a loud voice, if you could call it that.

"Tamaguchi, Kazuki. He made me do it. Told me that he would let me have a full two weeks supply free if I did him this favor. I didn't think anything of it right then, not 'til they put me out front of that store. It was a sweet deal. I mean I don't do nothing but watch the store front and then I get free dope for two weeks. Yeah." Maoki looked up at the demon to see if he agreed with his shrewd business mind but was met with nothing more than a blank mask.

Looking away he continued to mumble his way through the story starting from the beginning straight to the end, including all the little details that the police had been trying to get out of him for days.

"Is that everything?" Inuyasha finally asked when Maoki had falling silent, sensing that there was something else that he was holding back. His question was met with nothing but silence.

Angry now, he kicked the leg of the steel table causing it to bend and give way. He took a moment to calm himself, knowing that he had to also temper his strength. He didn't need anyone to hold him up by asking him questions about how he was able to do things that a normal human would never have been able to do. "Tell me!" he hissed.

Maoki had jumped up when he had heard the loud groaning of the table bending and he whimpered out loud. There was no way that he could escape this demon unless he told him all.

"After that gig, if all went well, there was another condition that I had to meet so that I could get my reward. There's word on the streets that that girl who was attacked last week, people are looking for her. Dangerous people."

Inuyasha went cold when he heard that. Kagome? It had to be! Who was looking for her and why?

"Who is looking for her?"

"I…I…I don't know. I swear. I'm telling the truth!" Maoki whimpered out quickly when he saw the dark look cloud the demon's face.

"Then tell me what else you were supposed to do for your reward?"

"I was supposed to find out what I could about her you know. Put it out in the street that there was a reward for finding her."

"What else?

"No… nothing. After I did that I was done. I don't know anything else"

Inuyasha shoved away from Maoki and stomped his way out of the room, heading back the way he had come. When he threw the other door open he stepped through and slammed the door behind him.

He noted the two detectives who had been questioning Maoki in the room eyeing him speculatively but he didn't care about that right now. He paced from one end of the room to the other, frustration, excitement roiling around inside of him all at one time.

He stopped pacing long enough to glare across the room at the chief and Nonomiya who stood huddled together whispering softly.

"Did you hear what that bastard said?"

"Yeah we did."

"And what are we going to do about it? I am not gonna let some bastard get his hands on my woman, you got that?" Inuyasha growled out, slamming his fist into the wall. He remembered just at the last second to restrain some of his strength but still managed to put a hole in it. Frustrated at his loss of control, he pulled his hand away and turned his back on the other occupants in the room.

"Your woman? You mean your girlfriend? That girl's mother know that you're stepping out with her daughter? And you do know that you're gonna pay for that bit of damage right?" Nonomiya groused out.

"My woman as in my future wife! I'm going to protect her at all costs, so if I have to deal with you guys to achieve that, you bet your asses that you're not going to sit on something like this. I won't let you."

"You're wife? You mean… that… whoa there! Don't you think that you're a bit young to be so serious? Does the girl's mother know that you two are carrying on the way you do behind her back?"

"Mind your own business, old man. What Kagome and I do is for us to know. I don't need any interference from you!" Inuyasha shouted, the red bloom on his cheeks spreading down to his throat. Harrumphing in aggravation he turned his head away and crossed his arms across his chest. "Anyway, what are we going to do about this threat?"

"Well it's obvious that we're gonna have to find out the source of this latest threat. We can't do anything further unless we know from where to start. I suggest that we retrace Maoki's steps and speak to all those who may have encountered him in the last two weeks. Someone might remember something, like just who this Tamaguchi guy might be and the reason behind Maoki's second task." Yamamoto said, adjusting the rim of his glasses before stuffing his hands into his trouser pants.

"Yes good idea Yamamoto. I expect you to update our new recruit here on what we have on the case so far. I'll leave it up to the both of you to find out what you can about Maoki."

"Well if you say so sir, then I believe it would be best if we conduct our investigation from under cover. It would be much easier for us both to blend in."

"Hmm, what say you Nonomiya?" Chief Miyosawa asked, his hand beneath his chin, his eyes on Inuyasha, considering.

"Let them do what they want, Chief. If Yamamoto thinks it's a good idea to go under cover then I would agree with him. He's hardly ever wrong." Nonomiya said with a wry twist to his lips.

"Why thank you sir. It's a pleasure to know that you place such faith in my capabilities," Yamamoto said with a small bow to his superior that was just a tad bit irreverent as well.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Nonomiya mumbled, waving his hand negligently in the air. "Go on you two get out of here. The chief and I got some grown up stuff we gotta talk about."

"Come Inuyasha. I'll let you in on the particulars of the case and then get you home. We've can start fresh tomorrow morning." Nodding his head in acknowledgement, Inuyasha followed closely behind him, mindful to close the door gently behind him.

"Well? What do you think Chief?" Nonomiya asked, rocking back on his heels, shifting his eyes to look back on Maoki in the other room, who was still mumbling softly to him self.

"All I can say is that you sure do know how to pick them. You really think that it's a good idea to let that kid run wild in the city. He's good I can tell that but he is a bit of a loose cannon."

"No worries, it's all good. I've got a good feeling about this one."

"Whatever, it's your funeral. Just make sure to keep him on a tight leash huh? The division can't take anymore assault charges, remember that."

***


	12. Chapter 12

I do not own Inuyasha in any way shape or form. However the story is an original plot with the occasional original character. Please enjoy and review.

The Love of a Hanyou

Chapter 11

***

Kagome sat quietly in her room trying her best to concentrate on the bit of school work in front of her but she found herself reading the same line over and over again. The more that she stared at the numbers, the more they appeared to be nothing more than swirling images on paper, dancing in place and making her head ache.

_Who_ was she kidding? There was no way that she could focus on algebra right now, not when her mind was locked on a certain hanyou and his ever increasingly weird behavior.

Tossing her pen aside in defeat, she got up and trudged her way across the room to lie across the bed, her arm resting over her eyes. Almost as though waiting for that exact moment when she closed her eyes, a very vivid image of Inuyasha wearing nothing but a wicked smirk appeared to tantalize.

She could feel the fierce blush that heated her face, remembering what they had done earlier and what they had done all this week.

Groaning loudly, she huffed with irritation. She knew that the reason that she couldn't stop thinking about him had more to do with the sudden turn their relationship had taken. Not to mention the fact that there hadn't been anytime for either of them, specifically her, to sit and talk about it.

She wanted to know what he was thinking, what her place in his life now was since it had seemed to have changed. They needed to talk about this new intimacy that had suddenly sprung up between them and if he really meant to take her as his mate. However, knowing Inuyasha, he would more than likely just sit there and grunt in that all typical male fashion that all men seemed born with.

Staring up at the ceiling, she grinned widely. In the years since having met the very taciturn hanyou, she had never imagined that she would fall in love with him or that maybe he might even return those feelings.

She had come to the conclusion that he would always have feelings for Kikyo and that he would never have any place in his heart for her. Instead, rather than sulking in the background for lost love she had settled for just wanting to be with him as a friend.

Despite that resolve to never force him to choose, she had always had a lingering hope that maybe, just maybe, eventually he would come to see her as something a bit more than a friend.

She missed him now and wished that he were here. She hadn't wanted to be around a great may people but she had always felt his presence keenly, lurking at the edge of her peripheral conscience.

Glancing at the clock at her bedside for what felt like the hundredth time, she realized that he had been gone for a whole four hours. As a matter of fact he had been spending a lot more time away from her in the past few days but today he had been gone longer than he usually was.

Today of all days was not a good one for him to be away, not when she had questions that had been boiling up and simmering inside of her. She hoped that he wasn't hurt or anything, Where was he?

How dared he leave her like this? He should've known that she would worry and fret, wasn't it always like that. Didn't he know that she would've sat just as she was now, wondering where he was, just as she was doing knowing; wondering if he was safe, just as she was now.

She sighed in annoyance, she hated being left behind, hated waiting. He should've taken her with him. Didn't he know that her place was there at his side? Why did he always insist on doing everything alone? Because he was stubborn that's why, always leaving her to watch him from the sidelines.

_When would he to get home? She thought to her self as she watched the small hand of the clock move onto five._ For the past two days, he had spent a lot of time at the police station doing god knows what, because he never discussed it with her. That part of course was not due for a lack of trying on her part.

That was the funny thing about him. He had the largest mouth, could out talk and shout circles around anyone but when it came to certain things he could be more tight lipped than Sesshomaru.

Her musing thoughts were interrupted by the sudden opening of her bedroom door. She looked over towards it and watched as an obviously agitated Inuyasha strolled through it before he kicked it closed again. His face was set into stern lines, his dark brows fiercely drawn down, and golden eyes down cast in deep thought. His arms were folded against his chest and he paid not a bit of attention to his surroundings.

She briefly wondered if he even knew that she was in the room that was just how deep his contemplation seemed to be. Kagome shifted her weight so that she kneeled in the bed and clasped her hands together in her lap, resigning herself to waiting for him to speak.

She was not altogether surprised when Inuyasha began to pace about her room. This was an action that she had become used to in all the time that she had known him. He was never still, always moving, doing something.

However his instinctively seeking her out, never even bothering to utter more than a grunt of acknowledgement before pacing about was a new development in the past few months. She had always thought it cute, that he seemed to only be able to do his deep thinking when she was around. Almost as though she were the one to help bring his mind to state of peace and that she didn't mind one bit.

She watched him with admiring eyes as he moved about gracefully, occasionally raking his hand through his heavy bangs reminding her of a large panther pacing about in his cage. She watched the steady play of the muscles in his arms as they flexed, bunching and relaxing, his gait even and smooth. She could never quite stop marveling at how beautiful he was, each time striking her as though it were the first time that she had ever laid eyes on him.

She was snapped out of her dreamy daze when he suddenly turned and settled an intense stare at her. For a moment she saw briefly, flashes of intense emotion in those amber hued orbs. His face was vacant of all emotion except for his eyes that flashed hotly, sending a jolt of sexual excitement racing through her body. She instantly felt the liquid heat of her arousal pool between her thighs and she shifted uneasily, trying to ease the ache.

She flushed red when she peeked through the thick fringe of her dark lashes and caught the half smirk that he gave as his eyes trailed down her body to rest at the juncture of her legs.

_He can smell me! _She thought, quickly turning her head as the ruddy hue of her face got brighter when her mind flashed back to what had happened two mornings in this very same bed.

He took one slow step forward and then another until finally he stood directly in front of her, close enough that all she had to do was stretch out her hand to touch him. All of a sudden shy she didn't look up at him but instead stared down at her twiddling fingers, unsure of what to say to him.

She should have known better than to think that she could avoid his avid gaze because he merely bent forward at the waist and tipped her head up until their eyes collided, their noses brushing intimately against one another.

Her face must have been beet red at the moment because he grinned wickedly before pressing his face close to brush his lips gently across her own before abruptly releasing her and striding his way into her bathroom.

She imagined that her face showed her complete state of confusion. What had just happened? Inuyasha's attitude seemed to have taken an entire one-eighty turn in a direction that she had never imagined that it would go.

He was silent instead of raging at the top of his lungs; his state of mind calmer instead of in its usual state of freneticism. And of course since that day, he was much more amorous and affectionate than he usually was.

She had never imagined that he could be so 'touchy- feely', randomly bussing her on her lips in front of her mother or even, abruptly crushing her against his chest when she happened to pass by him, passionately kissing her past the limits of her thinking capacity. There hadn't been a repetition of what had happened two days ago, but there had been plenty of occasions that had left her panting and nearly begging him for a repeat performance.

She doubted though that he would've obliged her because even though he had taking to touching her as much and as often as possible, he had never pushed her further than merely kissing and even going so far as seeming to have taken up permanent residence in her room.

He didn't even bother to make a pretense of going to his room anymore and instead came directly to her room, barging in on her in various states of undress as though it were his god given right!

Of course he didn't take her half naked form for granted because he would stare at her heatedly for as long as it took her to scramble into her clothes. Afterwards he would always toss a wicked half smirk at her before crawling his way into her bed, lying on his side with his back propped up against the wall and waiting patiently for her to join him.

She obviously had no idea of how to take this sudden rapid change in their relationship. It even looked as though she were the only one who even seemed to have noticed a difference because her mother never even blinked an eye whenever Inuyasha would abruptly yank her into his lap at the dinner table or even when he always suggested that they share one dinner plate and drinking glass. Well she was not the only one to be exact; grandpa was an altogether different story.

The old man had yelled in righteous indignation the first time it had happened but had settled down with low grumbles of protest after one stern glance from her mother. Even Souta barely glanced in their direction any more whenever he came across her in Inuyasha's lap in the recreation room, grazing his claws gently down her arms, across her bared thighs.

She looked over towards the closet and smiled tremulously at the definitely masculine clothes that hung at one side and the shoes that now took up residence beside her own. It was almost as though they were married she thought to herself, a warm feeling welling up inside her chest.

She loved him with all her heart and although he had not said anything and despite his actions she couldn't be sure whether he felt the same. He never spoke of Kikyo but she still very much played a prominent part in the back ground and would continue to be until the shikon jewel mission was finally over.

She was interrupted once again by the abrupt entry of said hanyou, who strode in with only a towel draped over his head and another that hung precariously low on his lean hips. She gaped at him in wide eyed wonder as he kicked the door shut behind him, rubbing his hair vigorously whilst making his way towards her.

Her mouth dropped open in stunned disbelief as he sat on the edge of the bed and thrust her hair brush into her hand. She stared dumbly at it for awhile until she realized that he wanted her to brush his hair. _Another new routine_, she thought dazedly. Inuyasha had never relished close contact but it seemed now that all of a sudden he couldn't get enough of it.

Kagome sighed shakily before kneeling behind him and carefully ran the brush through his hair. He was so much taller than she was that she had to sit up higher to reach the top of his head and before long her arm began to ache. As if noting her discomfort, he slid off the edge of the bed and sat with his back against it.

She twiddled the end of the brush in her hands, biting her lip in consternation unsure of how to proceed before she swung her legs to lie on either side of him. A furious blush broke out on her face spreading down towards her neck at the compromising position that she had placed herself in and Inuyasha didn't make things any better for her.

Instead he leant back into her, readjusting him self so that he sat comfortably between her legs, his head resting on her right thigh.

"Um…Inu…" she stammered out.

"What are you waiting for woman? Get on with it, will you?" Inuyasha grunted as he closed his eyes. A little put out by his gruffness, Kagome set her self the task of brushing the tangles from his damp hair, the monotonous action of it gradually beginning to soothe her fragile nerves.

A long period of silence passed before her mind began to run along the lines of the mystery in what exactly Inuyasha did that continually drew him from her side day in and day out. Of course if was an act of futility to even try and drag the information from the dog eared man since he had proved to be more recalcitrant about anything that concerned her safety.

There had been little reported in the news both in the papers as well as on the seven o'clock news. Not to mention that she had hardly seen hide or tail of any sort of police uniforms in days except to see the young detective that came and collected Inuyasha every morning.

Whenever she had sought to find out any type of information from Inuyasha though, his jaw would harden and he would get that decidedly stubborn tilt to his head and absolutely refuse to answer her questions.

Sometimes he would take it even one step further and either completely change the subject or kiss her into a daze until the last thing on her mind was anything but what he spent his time doing.

The reminder of his underhanded tactics brought an angry flush to her pale face and incidentally caused her to pull just a little too hard on a very stubborn gnarl of hair that had her hanyou jumping up and yelping in pain, his hands clutching protectively over his head.

"Ouch! What's your problem woman? Are you trying to make me go bald or something?" he snarled out, pulling his hand away and glancing at it as if checking to make sure that his scalp wasn't bleeding.

Kagome, recovered from her shock, quickly rolled her large eyes at his antics and huffed out a breath of annoyance. _Sometimes he can be such a baby_, she thought to her self. A roaming thought that brought to mind the old adage that stated that all men were babies in the face of pain when pampered by their women.

She blushed furiously when she thought of her self as his woman. Shaking her head and clapping her palms repeatedly on her burning cheeks, she tried to focus her fractured thoughts on what Inuyasha was going on about.

"I'm sorry, could you say that again," she asked when she looked up and noticed the expectant look on his face. He screwed up his nose at her, scoffed and then moved towards her bureau, yanking the top drawer open and riffling through it. It only took her a second to register that he was pawing through her delicates before she was up and shoving him to the side.

"What do you think you're doing?" she shouted, blushing as she pushed things back into place and slammed it shut.

"What do you mean what am I doing? Getting some clothes!" he glared at her with burning golden eyes. Those eyes that could draw you in, tempt you, demand that you submit and give up everything, eyes that fairly took her breath away.

And he noticed it, if the sudden droop of his lids were anything to go by. His nostrils flared as he took in the fragrance of her skin, his dark eyes, partially hidden by the ebony fringe of his lashes, glittered more golden than ever.

He leaned in closer to her, brushed her cheek with the back of one large dark hand, before winding a forefinger around a silky strand of hair tugging gently to bring her closer. She was helpless to resist the lure of the sensuality that pored out from him in overwhelming waves, a staunch slave to the erotic promise that glimmered in his wickedly beautiful eyes.

All thought concerning the underwear fled from her mind and she could think of nothing else except wanting to be closer to him. He gave her that little smirk that always sent shock waves rippling down her spine straight to her core before dipping his head lower.

His heavy lidded gaze swept over her face resting on the sensually pouting curve of her mouth and lingered there. The heated gaze left her trembling in anticipation and she let out a small whimper of dismay when he didn't draw any closer.

"Kagome…" he whispered hoarsely before he kissed her. He kissed her hard, demanding from her everything that she had. He left no quarter, sought to give her no mercy as he plundered the depths of her mouth, the bold sweep of his tongue leaving her no choice but to surrender to his mastery.

He stole breath form her, breathed in his own and then swept her into another mind shattering kiss that gave her little time for thought.

She could've cared less at the moment what was going in the world at that moment, all she knew was the dominating thrust on his tongue as she was wrapped up into a web of sensuality.

Sure fingers found their way under her shirt, under her bra where he boldly laid claim to her body. His steady hands kneaded and caressed her breast, plucked repeatedly at the nipples causing them to harden and strain towards him.

He gave a growl of satisfaction when she brought her hands up to wrap around his strong neck, her small hands clutching the silvery strands of his hair.

When suddenly he pulled away from her she cried out in dismay, only to sigh in relief when he returned again after pulling her shirt over her head and tossing it the side. When she felt the rough callus of his palms against her bared flesh she gasped and threw her head back in wild abandon.

He took advantage of the view that she bared and placed his hungry mouth against the sweet curve of her shoulder, biting and nipping at the sensitive flesh.

She shivered in sensual delight, wriggling her breasts against him, loving the feel of the heat that radiated from the wide expanse of his hard chest against her puckered nipples. She pressed closer and tilted her head back some more to allow him more room as he nibbled his way up to her earlobe, where he nipped it before sucking it into his mouth to soothe the sting.

"Ah Kagome, what you do to me," he murmured against her ear, the warm draft of his breath sending another shiver down to her core. His hands drifted from the heavy thrust of her breasts, over her trembling shoulders, down the smooth curve of her back and over the attractive curve of her bottom. He squeezed her there, pulled her hard against the hard jut of his penis and growled in pure male satisfaction when she melted again him.

He brought his mouth to hers again and gave her another one of his long, slow, wet kisses that robbed her of all senses, before lifting her up, wrapping both of her long legs around him, and walking towards the bed, never once breaking away from the kiss. He twisted about so that his back was to the bed before they both fell onto it in a tangle of limbs.

Kagome moaned at the renewed pressure of his erection against her and she wriggled against the hard bulge causing them both to moan out loud. He rolled over so that he was on top, before stripping away his towel and tossing it over his shoulder as he had done with her top.

With that done he place a finger inside the band of her pants and tugged it down in one fluid motion along with her panties, giving it the same treatment as the other clothes.

Strong muscular legs straddling her legs, he sat up and gazed down at her with smoldering golden eyes, before dipping his head again to her breast. She moaned again and clutched his head to her. He shook free of her hold, grabbing her wrists and locking them to her sides.

He smiled and then strung a slow, erotic line of kisses down her abdomen, dipping his hot wet tongue into the valley of navel. Her breath hitched into her throat before releasing on a shuddering breath when he gave her one gentle kiss to that spot just above her pubic hair.

He gave another her heated glance from under heavy brows before releasing both wrists and shifting lower, nuzzling his head against the softness of her stomach, his hands following the wet trail that his mouth had left behind.

"Kagome, I want you so badly. You don't know how long I've waited for you," he rasped out, sitting up again and spreading her legs. He caressed the milk white flesh of her thighs, his hot gaze focused on her exposed core.

She wanted to cover her self but when she sought to do so, he gave an impatient toss of his head and growled at her. She closed her eyes in order to stave of the humiliation of his appraisal but it never came. Instead the image of his eyes focused on her most private place had her shivering, made her hot. She felt her self even now growing moist at the thought.

"Look at me woman! Don't ever turn away from me when I make love to you."

She turned towards him and squinted up at him through narrowed eyes, to find him smirking at her before he kissed his way down the inner curve of her dimpled knee and up the other. When she felt the heat of his breath flicker over her clit, she stiffened but gave out a cry of protest when she felt the prod of one long finger tip against her entrance.

She struggled against him, trying to kick her way free of his grasp before he released her having finally registered that she was in serious distress and not maidenly embarrassment.

She heard the ripe curse he let loose before she curled in on her self in both shame and disappointment. She had so wanted to let him make love to her, had thought that she would've been able to let him but when she had felt him pushing against her cleft she had instinctively wanted to lash out and protect herself and she had.

She knew herself to be ten times the fool, knowing that Inuyasha would never harm her in any way. She knew that in both her heart and her mind but apparently her body didn't get the message.

She felt him pull away from her and she curled in on herself even more but he didn't move off of the bed. She didn't know what he was thinking and she refused to think on it. He had been so patient with her this last week and they had both moved onto a relationship that could grow into something else but she knew that she held them back. Because no matter how much she wanted him, she stiffened whenever they came close, whenever he held her in a sexual way.

Her back rigid, she listened as he shifted closer, gathered her into his arms and spooned his large body around her. She reacted instantly to his heat, shivering just a bit before settling against him. She was glad that he hadn't said a word, she didn't want to explain anything and she took comfort in that he seemed to understand what she needed most from him.

The heavy pulse of his erection still beat a steady tattoo against her but he didn't do anything to push her but instead just held her close. She felt her body slow begin to relax and she almost fell into a drowse when he took to stroking her gently along her arm.

Her eyes widened moments later when his hands drifted over her breasts again and he kneaded them with the same gentle, soothing caresses that he had given her arms. The heat from earlier slowly began to build up again and she shifted restlessly as the inner folds of her body clenched in deft response to his strokes.

She started to say something, anything that would prevent him from letting her humiliate her self again but he quickly shushed her, leaning over her and slanting his hard mouth over her own.

She was lost again and all thought driven from her mind. He broke from the kiss and lay there for awhile simply stroking and plumping the pouting flesh of her bared breasts.

"Do you trust me Kagome?" he husked into her ear. She stilled and gaped in confusion, unsure as to how to answer. When she took too long to answer he shook her gently and repeated the question. Unable to find her voice she slowly nodded her head.

"Good," he said as he pulled her hands away from his body and directed it over her own.

***

His hand encompassing her own, he caressed first her breasts then her belly, then further down. He parted her knees again with his own and placed her hand stolidly at the juncture of her thighs. "Let me see you touch your self."

"I can't." She cried in agony as his hands came up again to knead her breasts, feeling the dual pressure of being self consciousness and wanting to please him.

"Yes you can. Make your self come for me," he whispered darkly into her ear.

At the force of the sensual lure behind those words, she shivered and felt an all new rush of sexual heat come over her. The heat was so intense that she could give no thought to disobey him but instead spread her legs wider and proceeded to touch a hand between her legs, flinching away at the swollen, moistness that was sensitive due to over stimulation.

"That's it," he muttered. She turned her head, their gazes meeting. His smoldering golden eyes that had darkened having watched her every move caused her to flush with erotic pleasure.

"Now open your self wider," his dark voice overwhelming her senses, making her ache. She did as he instructed, spread her legs wider and dipped her fingers into the slick warmth.

"Yes, does that feel good?"

"Yes."

"Does it hurt?"

"No" she whispered, feeling the first stirrings of renewed enjoyment. She closed her eyes and let herself be wrapped up in a sensual fog of need that her fingers and the velvety husk of his voice created for her.

"Now touch your clit," he said, drawing her body closer to his own, nipping at her ear. It pulsed like a hot little heart against her fingers as she did what he said and she cried out with it arching her back. The searing heat of his hard penis against her bottom had her bucking back against him.

"That's it," he chuckled against her ear, pressing a hot kiss against her neck. "Just like that Kagome." He continued to whisper dark, erotic things into her ear, describing all the ways that he would take her, told her how badly he wanted to slide his hot, hard flesh into her own. He told her how he would take her hard and fast at first and then again at a slower pace.

"I'm going to make you moan, then I'm gonna make you cry. After that I'm gonna make you scream and then I'll enjoy making you do all three." he promised. At this point she was so turned on that she sat up onto her elbow and rubbed her finger lasciviously over her soaking clit, driving her self closer and closer to the brink.

The pictures that he had painted inside of her head flashed through her mind, had her panting, one hand over his own that continued to massage her breast, the other between her legs, pumping, working fast and deep.

"That's it baby. Come for me. Now." he demanded on a ragged groan that had her gazing up at him through slit eyes. She glanced down at his hand; she saw the quick pumping motions of his hand.

All it took was the image of what he was doing to himself as she masturbated for him, to finally push her over that edge. The thought of long dark fingers fisted over his hard rampant erection had her keening in completion. He grunted just as she did, pulling her back into his chest and kissing her hard as he too came.

They lay together, their harsh breath mingled in hot rasps, his arms wrapped tightly around her as they trembled in the aftershocks.

"Inu…"

"No. Get some sleep wench, you need it. Later, we'll talk," Inuyasha mumbled into her damp neck. She was too tired to argue and instead did as he said, closed her eyes and promptly fell asleep.

A long while later Inuyasha still laid wide awake, holding Kagome against him, soothing his claws through the jumbled mass of dark hair. They had made progress tonight.

He knew that this fight was not with Kagome her self but with her body. The fight was getting her body to relax with him, trust him. He knew this because she always responded to him whenever he kissed her but she would always stiffen whenever he tried to go any further.

She loved him, he knew that and he would wait for however long it took to get her to trust him not only with her heart but with her body.

***

Mitsubuya Enishi waited in the darkness of the small alleyway that was adjacent to the old abandoned warehouse on the eastside of Shibuya town. He stood there, back pressed flat against the dirty grimy brick wall, wispy fumes of tobacco smoke wafting up around him, making him squint his eyes a little as he occasionally peeped over his shoulder in the night.

The steady flickering of the street lamp leant him little enough in the way of light but he his eyes had grown used to the sparse light. It didn't matter anyway. He didn't need it to see in order to do what he had to do.

He plucked the glowing nub of cigarette stick from between narrow lips, peered down pensively as it slowly burnt itself out before flicking it to the other side of the alley. He reached down into his pocket and drew out another bud, lighting it up with the cheap plastic lighter that he had bought earlier and settling down again with a sigh of satisfaction.

Tonight was a chilly night that was for sure and he didn't know what he would've done without the pack of cigarettes in his pocket. He gave said pocket a little loving pat before once again peering over his shoulder into the dark night.

Where was that little bitch, he thought impatiently. He had been standing in the small alley for a good forty five minutes and it was beginning to grate on his nerves. He hated waiting and he especially hated it when he had to wait for a woman. He stamped his feet in an effort to stave off the chill before leaning back against one shoulder.

He should've let Mokuba stand out and wait he thought snidely to himself. There was no point in his having to stand up outside in the cold whilst that sniveling idiot got to relax and live it up inside where it was warm.

Enishi was smart, he knew it and he knew that everyone else knew it too. No one could stand up to him in the intelligence rink but yet still here he was, like a goon waiting in the dark- cold, hungry and _waiting_!

His meandering thoughts were interrupted when he heard the rapid clopping sounds of a pair of female shoes heading his way. He straightened up and took the time to cautiously look around the bend. His thin lips gradually spread out into a wide smile. _Finally!_

He waited patiently until the woman had passed his alley before he jumped out silently and grabbed her from behind. He reveled in the frightened squeal that she let out, almost laughed out in triumph when she began to twist and squirm her way from his tight grasp to no avail.

Her muffled cries of help rang dully in the air from behind his palm and he gained a thrill of delight when she stretched back behind her trying her hardest to scratch at his exposed skin.

He pulled her roughly into the alley and shoved her up against the wall so hard that the breath was literally knocked out from her. He knew that because she began gasping like a landed guppy struggling for its last breath.

Oh he did so love to hear the gargling sounds when made when he strangled the air from them, but sadly this one had to stay alive just a bit longer. He needed her.

He leaned his weight heavily onto her back, pushing her farther up against the wall and pressed a harsh whisper into her ear.

"Did you miss me Aiko?"

"Enishi? You son of a bitch! What the hell do you think you're doing?" She grated out, trying to twist around to look into his face after he had moved his hand.

"Only what we agreed on. You know you like it baby. You make me do it to you almost every other day. Why not do it on a day that I feel like doing it."

"Because you scared the shit out of me that's me you little jerk." This time when she struggled against him, he let her free but jumped back quickly when she retaliated by lashing out at him.

"I thought that that was the point. You like it rough like that. Isn't it why you pay me to do it? Admit it, you like the thrill that you get at the thought of being raped. It's why you do what you do," he murmured silkily, stepping forward when she started to smooth the length of her rather scandalously short skirt.

He backed her up against the wall, wrenched her face up towards his and kissed her hard. It was not gentle, it was not soft but it was wild. He pulled away pressing his face into her heavily perfumed neck, and fondled her heavy breast, pulling and tugging hard. He pinched the nipple cruelly and laughed with delight when she cried out loud in pain as well as pleasure.

***

(read more at .org/fanfic/view_?cid=585918&submit=View+Chapter&id=165460)

***

"Mmm, that was wonderful," she purred out in a tone that he guessed she figured was sexy but really just sent shivers of disgust racing up his spine. "What do you say if we take this party back to my apartment huh?"

He turned back to her, narrowing his eyes at her dishevelment. He could do better than her tonight but he still needed her. He needed what he could get out of her.

"Fine…let's go," he tried not to squirm as she grinned up and sashayed her way towards him.

***

Thanks please review the story!


	13. Chapter 13

I do not own Inuyasha in any way shape or form. However the story is an original plot with the occasional original character. Please enjoy and review.

The Love of a Hanyou

Chapter 12

***

When Kagome woke up the next morning, it was to find herself alone in her rumpled sheets, no sign of her amorous hanyou anywhere.

She narrowed her blue- gray eyes in the bright morning light shining in through her window, taking a quick glimpse about the room. When she realized that she was completely alone, she lay back and allowed a silly grin to spread across her face.

Her grin eventually grew into giggles that she could barely suppress. Rolling over to her side, she brought the pillow that Inuyasha had slept on to her face and inhaled the lingering male spicy scent that he had left behind. She sighed in contentment before shrugging off the sheets and dancing her way into her adjoining bathroom.

Today was going to be a good day, she could already tell.

Later when she had showered and dressed into some old loose fitting jeans and an old 'Tokyo mania' shirt, she bounced her way down the stairs and swept into the kitchen, singing out a cheerful good morning to her surprised mother and her very confused grand father.

"Kagome, my word, what has gotten into you gel?" gramps wheezed out in his astonishment. The odd look on his face made her laugh out loud.

"Not a thing gramps. I'm just in a good mood today," she said, spinning away from the kitchen table and over to the stove where her mother stood, hand still in the midst of stirring something in the pot. "Mmm, smells good mom."

Her mother blinked owlishly at her before managing to stammer out a weak 'thank you'.

"Call me when breakfast is ready ok? I'm going to the living room to watch some television," and with that, Kagome breezed her way right back out of the kitchen and across the hallway to the aforementioned room.

Throwing her self into the sofa, she grabbed the remote and turned on the television at the same time that she grabbed up the TV guide, flipping through the glossy pages to today's schedule.

Her eyes caught onto a picture of a couple dressed in western clothing of the early Victorian 1800's, standing close together, gazing deeply into each other's eyes. The man had a tight grasp on the woman's waist, holding her tenderly to his masculine chest, their faces and lips just scant inches apart.

She sighed dreamily, wandering idly to her self if her superimposed mental picture of her and Inuyasha might be labeled as crazy or obsessive to some. She didn't see how and she really could care less if it was.

Her minded drifted back to their activities of last night. Although she had been a bit anxious at having to touch her self whilst he watched, she had quickly gotten over that.

She felt so natural with him when it came to anything sexual and she imagined that that was how it was meant to be between two people who loved each other. Even though he hadn't said the words to her, she at least would like to think that he wasn't dreaming of Kikyo when he was with her. God she hoped not.

She was jerked out of her thoughts by the loud blaring of sirens coming from the television speakers. _When did that get so loud_, she wondered before glancing down to see that somehow her elbow had been pressing on the volume button on the remote.

Sighing in exasperation, she sat up and raised the remote towards the television. When she glanced up though, her eyes became riveted by what she saw there and just as quickly readjusted the volume a little higher.

"Mama? Mama, come quick!" Kagome shouted. Itsuko burst through the open hallway panting and clutching a dish rag in one hand and a dinner plate in the other. Her heart had given a painful lurch in her chest when she had heard the panicked tone in her daughter's voice.

"What is it Kagome?" she was puzzled when all she received for an answer as a trembling pointed finger at the television screen.

"This is Yurimeshi Sawako reporting the morning seven o'clock news. I am standing here just outside an apartment complex in the metropolitan area of Shibuya town where it is said that the body of Takanaka Aoi, column editor for the Tokyo daily newspaper has been found brutally murdered.

"The specifics of the murder are unknown except it is said that the murder occurred sometime between the hours of 1 and 3 this morning. If anyone has any information as to how this terrible tragedy occurred, you are strongly urged to contact the police department. Any further development…"

"Wasn't she the lady that kept calling me for an interview?" Kagome whispered, raising a stricken gaze to that of her mother's.

As the slow realization of what the implications could mean, she felt cold dread settle in the pits of her stomach like a lump of clay. _Maybe today isn't going to be such a great one after all._

***

Inuyasha sat in stoic silence in the passenger seat of the horseless carriage as it sat out on the curb of the street in a rather seedy looking area of town. He sat in silence with Detective Yamamoto Atsushi, waiting idly for god only knows what to happen.

Why were they just sitting around? It made no sense to him especially when they could be out there looking around and asking questions.

"So Inuyasha, tell me how did meet Miss Higurashi?" Yamamoto asked as he leaned back into his seat, his arm stretched up and under his head as he kept his eyes focused on the street.

Inuyasha felt his ear twitch under the cap as his brow furrowed in concentration. Now how was he going to explain him self? Obviously he couldn't say anything about Sengoku Jidai - that just left too much room for questions being asked.

"Well, it was two years ago. She just sort of found me I guess. I've lived on my own from ever since I could remember, wandering from one place to another. I always had to fend for myself. But when I met her, everything changed for me."

"A rough and tumble street kid huh? Any family of your own?"

"An older half brother who would rather see me dying on the side of some street," Inuyasha grumbled. "I was pretty messed up then. I hated everybody but she changed me for the better. She made me a better man."

"…sounds serious," Yamamoto muttered.

"Yeah… she accepted me when no one ever had. I'll do anything that I have to to protect her," Inuyasha whispered vehemently.

Inuyasha gave a start when a sudden break in the tense silence rent through the air and a broken voice spoke under a back drop of static noise. He was confused for a moment, not sure of where exactly the voice was coming from, especially when he knew that there was no one around.

Yamamoto sat still for a moment, listening intently to the voice speak over the intercom. After awhile he relaxed again and blew out a breath that he had not realized that he had been holding in. A few minutes later his phone gave off a ring.

"Yamamoto here…oh Miss Higurashi… oh, hang on. It's for you Inuyasha," as he handed the phone over, Inuyasha gave him a blank stare before looking down at the small device. He couldn't very well hold the thing to his ears, so instead held it to where his ears were supposed be had he been human.

"Kagome?'

"Inuyasha, thank god. I was watching the news this morning and you know that reporter that keeps calling here? She's dead! What do you think that means? You don't think that the murderer was maybe looking for me do you?"

Kagome's voice practically dripped with both fear and tension. With every word that she spoke, he felt his muscles tighten even more, making ready to strike at whatever had struck that fear into her.

He wished that he was there with her now to take her into his arms and soothe her but he knew that he had to find her attackers, who might be and might not be murderers as well. Things were steadily getting out of control, he grimly acknowledged.

"Kagome," he growled, cutting through the incoherent babbling that she had fallen into whilst his mind had drifted. "Listen, I want you to stay inside, don't talk do anyone you hear me?"

When she gave up a shaky "yes", he hummed in satisfaction then spent a bit more time reassuring her before reluctantly shoving the phone back to Yamamoto who had made no pretense at all in trying to act as though he hadn't been eavesdroping on the conversation.

"That murder just awhile ago. That Takanaka woman, was she a reporter or something?"

"Uh, I think so, yeah she writes for the Tokyo Daily. Why?"

"I think that maybe we need to find out a bit more about this murder. We might find out something to help us find out whose looking for Kagome.

"It's just too much of a coincidence to be anything else. First we find out that someone is out there looking for Kagome and now this woman whose been calling her gets murdered. Something's up." Inuyasha said grimly, facing forward, his golden eyes hard.

Yamamoto sat back and thought about what he said. It was true, everything seemed to circulating right back to the Higurashi girl, there were just no other ways to explain how all of this could be happening.

"I agree that it's worth looking into. We can't take anything for granted in this case, especially when it could all prove detrimental to Miss Higurashi's safety," with that said Yamamoto turned the ignition and moved the vehicle into the line of traffic.

The expression on Yamamoto's face was pensive before he gave a short nod, "Alright. Then, let's go."

The drive was relatively short but it was long enough that it left Inuyasha feeling antsy in his seat. He was more than ready to jump out the car when it came to a stop just in front of an area that had been sectioned off with yellow caution tape. To say that the place was nothing but chaos would have been an understatement.

The loud whirring noises of police sirens acted as an piercing, over loud backdrop to all the other surrounding sounds.

The crowd of people who stood just outside the tape jabbering agitatedly and gawking at the proceedings of the men and women in uniforms were somewhat daunting. Especially when they turned fanatically interested eyes to the new arrivals on the scene.

Inuyasha hunched his shoulders defensively and growled inaudibly as he shuffled his way behind Yamamoto who had walked closer to the tape and was flashing his badge at the young officer standing guard.

Once they were cleared they pushed their way through the line of people with cameras and black sticks that they kept waving around in other people's faces.

He wasn't sure what to do when they jostled him and started asking him questions. So instead he growled and shoved past them ignoring the few indignant responses, sprinting to catch up with the human that had managed to put a considerable amount of distance between them when he had been distracted.

After a trip inside a metal box that had left him wishing that he had tetsusaiga at his side, they met up with another passel of humans milling around an open doorway. The scent of stale blood met his nose and his palms literally itched to come up and cover it. The blood scent was not only old but there were lots of it mixed in with the scent of sex and other bodily fluids.

As he passed over the threshold of the cozy little apartment he was some what awed at the largesse of luxury that surrounded him. He remembered Kagome describing to him how some people who either didn't want to live in their own houses or either couldn't afford them, rented rooms from others.

_But this?!_ He had never seen so much extravagance laid out in letting rooms such as this in his time.

The concept of renting living spaces was nothing new to him since he had it in his own time. Poorer families usually lived in houses on the properties of their lords and in exchange they worked and tilled the fields in order to produce crop.

It was a symbiotic relationship in which both parties benefited- the overlord grew richer with the people to tend and harvest his crops and his tenants had safe places to lay their heads and food in their bellies.

However this kind of profligacy went far and beyond anything that he had experienced. The glass vases and gold trimmed picture frames. The long cream colored couches and large over head candelabras made out of pretty glittering crystals were what he believed the rich overlords would have in their keeps.

This was no poor man's residence that was for sure. Everything that he had seen so far in Kagome's time just proved how different their times were and essentially they were worlds apart. The thought brought him up short and made him wonder how Kagome could ever really want to have anything to do with him.

He had nothing with which to offer her, not a damn thing. How could he live with himself for wanting to take all this away from her? Where not every one who wasn't a lord went hungry; where the food was plentiful and jobs easy to find.

In her time she had medicines to cure the hacking cough that still continued to prove deadly to the people in his time, in her time the life expectancy of the average man was not twenty nine but rather many lived to see their grand children.

How could he be selfish? How could he allow her to live in his time where death was prominent? Where it was always a constant threat from youkai, man or disease?

He felt the mental chain on his youkai rattle angrily in the back of his mind at the thought of her dying. Suppressing it almost became a task when he had these macabre thoughts swirling around in his head, taunting him, provoking him to do something.

Shaking his head roughly to clear it, he shifted laser sharp eyes over to where Nonomiya stood in deep conversation with Yamamoto. Inuyasha guessed that he was filling Nonomiya in on the theory that they had come upon in the car earlier and proceeded to put his attention on his surrounding and the blood scent.

The odor was pungent; the scent of fear and death fairly stifled the area. At a casual glance everything seemed normal, nothing out of place except for the trail of women's clothes that led from the hallway straight to the bedroom.

The bedroom itself was nothing above average if one was used to such opulence, the floor strewn with ladies silken things. However the real shock came from the bloodied mess lying on the bed. The quilt and sheets were completely saturated with blood, the cold lump of flesh lying in the midst of it still and surreal.

Death was a well known companion to all those that lived in Sengoku jidai, brutality and gory violence a close friend but never before had he seen such savagery that had been manifested through one human upon another.

It had always been human versus demon of course he would never fool him self into thinking that humans didn't prey on another but this was the first that he had ever seen evidence of it.

The woman, or what was left of her; laid on her back, naked. Her face nothing more than a bloody mottled mass of bruises, torn skin and raw flesh, making her features indiscernible.

Her chest had been splayed upon by some sharp implement, her breasts cleaved and nearly torn off. Her hands were bruised and bore defensive cuts as she had tried to fend off her attacker, one of them bent at an awkward angle.

Whoever had done that to her had been one angry little fucker that was for sure. As he trailed his eyes down over her torso, he found him self nearly shocked at the number of stab wounds displayed there. Wounds that varied in depth and width but continued down along towards her vagina.

He was aghast at the level of violence that had escalated when the attacker had arrived there. Not even needing to hear how many stabs had been inflicted at that region, he came to the realization that maybe, just maybe this guy had issues with women.

Turning away in disgust, he shuffled his way across the room, giving a wide berth to the bed and the two men that stood over the woman snapping flashes of light at various parts of the dead woman's body.

Coming to stand before the sliding doors, his eyes zeroed in on the lone cigarette bud flung negligently in the corner. Inuyasha hitched up the legs of his jeans and bent down to take a closer look.

He had seen one of these things before and he searched his memory trying to remember when he had. He went completely still when it came to him. His muscles clenched tight and vibrating with the hum of barely suppressed excitement.

_The train station!_

When he had stumbled across Kagome that night, there had been half a dozen of these things strewn about the ground just a few feet away from her. He hadn't given much thought to them then since his mind had been on getting Kagome home but now the memory stood out crystal clear in his mind.

He moved closer and took a tentative whiff at it hoping to recognize the scent but instead drew a blank. It wasn't familiar at all. It didn't match any of the two scents that he had found on Kagome's body but there was something about it that niggled at the back of his mind.

Standing up he shook his head and quickly yanked the glass door to one side before stepping through onto the tiny balcony. He spent a few minutes adjusting his eyes to the full flare of the sun before he looked around him.

Two reclining chairs sat to the left of him, a small green leafy plant lying just between them. Across the way, where the balcony end, six other just like it sat and he figured that they were attached to other apartments similar to this one.

The building was indeed very large over eighty feet high and probably just as wide. The woman's apartment was on the sixteenth floor and it had a great view of the Yoyogi Park that sat five building over. The hustle and the bustle of the city continued on, unmindful of any other business but its own.

Heaving a sigh he made to move over to one of the chairs when the sun hit on a bit something that glimmered at winked teasingly at him. He moved closer and then let out a growl of anger when he discovered what it was.

Lying innocently in the seat of the first chair was a fine gold chain with a gold heart shaped locket attached to it. He didn't have to open it to know that inside he would find the tiny smiling face of Kagome and the snarling image of his own.

He was distracted from his musings when Nonomiya drew up behind him.

"What you got there kid?" Inuyasha stood up to his full height after a long while of tense silence, then stepped to the side to allow Nonomiya to get a look at the locket.

Nonomiya looked at it before taking a glimpse at clenching jaw of the boy and the agitated ticking at his temple.

"Something you recognize," he stated, watching the vast play of emotions as they flitted one after the other on Inuyasha's face. He was given a terse nod before the red tinted face was turned aside.

Muscular arms were crossed over a wide and equally muscled chest, the tension and rage in every line broadcasted loud and clear.

"It belongs to Kagome. She said that she lost it that night."

Inuyasha relaxed his fists before turning burning golden eyes to Nonomiya. "Just inside the glass door, you'll find something that I think might belong to the killer. Whoever he is, he knows something about Kagome's attackers. He had to have been there.

"We need to find this guy and fast," _before he finds Kagome_, this last, he thought to him self.

***

Enishi watched the news with grim satisfaction. So they had discovered Aoi's body, it meant nothing. He had made sure to clean up all traces of him self before he had left the scene last night. They wouldn't catch him because they wouldn't be able to find any connection to him.

He hadn't meant to kill her, at least not this soon but the stupid bitch had pushed him to do it. She had forced him to lose his control and she had suffered the consequences. He had struggled so hard, for so long to overcome his brash impulsiveness but every now and again, the tether that held everything together slackened.

All he had wanted was information, that's it but Aoi had put him in a nearly impossible position. She had made him hurt her far more than he had planned to and now she was dead, the stupid heifer. She shouldn't have made him think of his mother, she shouldn't have made him remember what his mother had done to him, made him do to her.

His mind wandered back to the night before, every thing had started off perfectly but had quickly gone to hell after they had gotten back to her apartment. They had sat out on her balcony sharing a drink but from there things had gotten nasty.

***

"So tell me Enishi, why'd you come to me tonight. You know I hate it when you just pop up like that when you know that I haven't called you," Aoi said as she lay back on the chair and took a sip of chardonnay from her glass. She shivered delicately, both at the exquisite taste and the tantalizing sweep of the cold night air on her bared breasts.

This was one of her favorite past times whenever she had one of her lovers stay over during the night. She knew that she had a beautiful body, it was one of her best assets that ensured that she always got what she want.

She had learned that lesson growing up as a young girl from the poorer part of Yokohama, that if she wanted something she had to get it her self. And the best way to get that was to make others give it to her.

She had discovered at the age of thirteen when her body had first began to develop that men and even some women would give her anything she wanted if she let them have sex with her.

What did she care? It didn't matter what they did as long as they gave her what she wanted and it had worked for her like a charm and it was still working for her as evidence of her current lifestyle.

If she had her way she would never be hungry again. Instead of having people use her she would instead flip the tables and use them. However there were things that she just couldn't escape.

She had quickly discovered that the only way that she could enjoy sex was if it were through force. She could never orgasm unless she had beaten first, a curse of her body.

A consequence no doubt developed from her youth - her father had raped her constantly throughout her girlhood and had continued to do so until she had escaped him at fourteen.

From there she had fallen prey to men and other gang members on the street. Her curse was now probably a punishment from the gods for what she did but it didn't matter, not when you could find people like Enishi in this world.

He understood her, understood her darker desires. She turned to him now and watched him. His keen intelligent eyes stared dully back at her from behind his glasses. He was lean, lanky even.

The harmless looking guy that you would see on the street but she wasn't a fool. She knew that looks could be deceiving and in this case they were very deceiving. Enishi was dangerous, very dangerous. He drew her attention when he shifted closer.

"That story that ran in the Daily last week, the girl. Who is she?" Enishi watched as Aoi's eyes widened in stunned disbelief. He knew that that would've been the last thing that she would have thought that he had come to her.

"Why do you want to know about her?" she asked petulantly, somewhat perturbed that Enishi would be inquiring about some teenager when she was right there eagerly waiting for him.

He had always been her favorite. He knew how she liked it and she knew that she would always be satisfied sexually whenever he was around.

"Don't worry about that. Do you know her name?" the way he asked, the way he tried to seem disinterested spiked her own. Oh yeah she knew the girl's name and she had found that out through her source on the police force, but why would Enishi want to know her name?

"What it worth to you?" she asked as she leaned closer, the hard points of her nipples brushing across his arms. She grew excited as the rough hairs teased her senses and she licked her lips in anticipation. "Tell you what, if you do something for me then I'll tell you everything that you want to know."

Enishi nodded his head decisively before looking at her expectantly. More aroused than she had ever been in her life she had quickly snatched up his hand and dragged him back inside to push him towards the bed.

"Take off your clothes and lay there on the bed. I'll be right back." Not waiting for him to utter a reply, Aoi dashed from the room.

Enishi stood still beside the bed uncertain for awhile before shrugging out of his shirt and shirking his jeans and underwear. He lay prone on the bed for a good ten minutes before Aoi returned completely naked with both hands behind her back.

When he made to get up she quickly pushed him back down again. "Not yet my good man. The fun is just about to start."

Before he even got a chance to demand for her to tell him what she was about, she had cuffed both of his hands to the headboard. He hadn't noticed that until it was too late.

"Now you bad boy, let's see if I can't help to teach you some manners. Its time for me to take charge."

He watched her bend over before she pulled a long whipping strap from under the bed. His eyes widened when he got the gist of what she had in mind. "What do think you're going to do with that?"

"Shut up!" the crack of the whip on his bare thigh punctuated the air and continued to do so until his cursing died down to nothing more than a furious glare. "That's better, Enishi. Much, much better," Aoi purred soothingly.

She drew closer to the bed, lowering her eyes to stare at the semi flaccid flesh of his penis. "Tell me something Enishi. Have you ever had a woman like me fulfill every single one of your desires the way that I do?"

Her question was met with silence but the glare didn't die down in intensity. "No? Then allow me to demonstrate why I'm marginally better than a foolish little school girl."

With an odd glint in her eyes, Aoi raised the whipping strap above her head and proceeded lash it against every part of his body until he lay there in tears and sweat begging her to stop but she didn't.

She had always wanted to let herself go like this, had always wanted to be the punisher instead of the supplicant and now she just couldn't stop; not when she had that power.

For Enishi the time past by slowly, the excruciating pain of the lashes nearly driving him out of his mind and for just a moment when the pain became too much, he was a little boy again.

A little boy cringing away from his mother who had yelled and screamed at him and then beat him with her belt. Every lash felt just like it had then and every one brought back that anger that he had tried to push aside. However the fear overrode that anger and he was helpless just like he was then.

It explained why when Aoi had straddled his waist, un-cuffed him and then swiftly impaled herself on him he could do nothing more than grip her tightly around the waist as she swiftly rode him to his completion, just like his mother had done when he was a little boy.

Aoi had moved off of him then and had promptly fallen asleep but he had stayed awake, caught in a nightmare from his past, reliving the moments that had haunted him everyday.

He turned his head and looked at Aoi but in his mind he saw his mother. The woman who was supposed to love him and protect him. The fear and the panic set in more sharply; no, he couldn't let that happen.

He wouldn't be her slave again. He had to get rid of her again so that he could be left in peace. He had to kill her again and he would.

When Aoi woke up she found her self pinioned under Enishi's body. His penis, enlarged and pulsating at the dry entrance to her vagina and her legs were spread apart by his knees. With a grunt he pushed the swollen tip roughly into her, grinding it forward until he completely filled her.

"So I'm your slave am I? I'll show you what kind of slave I am," he snarled savagely with a manic gleam in his eyes.

Aoi quickly grew excited, her vagina quickly drenching to coat and ease the rough push and pull of Enishi engorged member. "Oh yes fuck me good baby."

"I'll show you what I'm made of. You'll take my cock and like it bitch. You want it don't you, you cunt?"

He fell silent, gritting his teeth as he pulled his member back violently almost to the tip only so that he could shove it back in, grinding it into her body until she was nearly mindless with pleasure.

His breathing was rough and uneven; he didn't touch her with his lips or his hands, all his frenzied concentration on his penis. Faster and faster he labored until finally he rode her into a racking, tortuous orgasm.

They lay there awhile until finally, Enishi sat up, his penis enlarged in her again but he didn't take up a rhythm again. Instead he laid the full brunt of his fist into her face, repeatedly.

Over and over again he struck her until finally she lay still beneath him, no longer struggling against him. Her blood coated his hands and his face but that didn't stop him from slamming his penis into her body again, pumping against her until he was spent.

Getting up from the bed, he staggered towards the kitchen, wrenching the cupboards open until he found a bottle of vinegar and some sponges. As he moved passed the kitchen counter, his eyes fell on a large meat cutting knife.

Without a moment's hesitation he pulled it free and moved back into the room. Two hours later he had struggled his way free of his mania and had gone home to sleep it off. But not before he had grabbed up the laptop and all of the files from her desk.

***

Thanks please review the story!


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